Filipino seafarers held captive by pirates increasing

MANILA, Philippines -The number of Filipino seafarers held captive by pirates has increased with the latest hijacking of a chemical tanker with 18 Filipino crewmembers on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The DFA said the latest hijacking incident increased the number Filipino seafarers taken hostage by Somali pirates to 81.

Somali pirates seized the MT Motivator, a Marshall Island-flagged chemical tanker in northern Bab Al Mandeb area in the southern Red Sea, between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, with 18 Filipino crewmembers on board.

The DFA is closely coordinating with the vessel’s principal and other concerned agencies for the early resolution of the latest hijacking.

The manning agency reported that the vessel’s captain was able to contact the agency to report that all the crewmembers are safe and unharmed. The ship owner has also assured the agency that it will take charge.

Commander Gaudencio Collado, the Philippine Foreign Liaison Officer to the Combined Maritime Command in Bahrain, is leading efforts in coordinating with naval authorities to resolve the case.

As this developed, the Diplomatic Conference of Parties to Adopt Amendments to the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW), and the Seafarers’ Training, Certification, and Watch keeping Code was successfully concluded at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

More than 500 delegates from 85 countries who are signatories to the STCW Convention, observers from three International Maritime Organization (IMO) associate members, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the European Commission, and 17 other non-government organizations joined the event.

The opening ceremony of the Conference was graced by former vice president Noli de Castro and IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos.

The Manila Amendments updated the STCW Convention and Code with the aspirations of the 2006 Maritime Labor Convention adopted by the ILO.

One of the major issues at the Conference focused on the grant of flexibility to ship owners as regards the rest hours of seafarers.

With rest hours mandated at not less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any seven-day period, the amendment recognized the need for granting exception due to emergencies and operational conditions at sea.

However, the exception to the rest hours provision was drafted with sufficient safeguards that would ensure a minimum of six hours of rest, with no more than 14 work hours between rest periods during a 48-hour period within a seven-day work week.

The Conference also adopted a resolution setting aside June 25 as the Day of the Seafarer.

The Philippines is the primary source of manpower for the global maritime fleet, accounting for more than a quarter of its requirements. –Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)