Filipino Hostages
Fourteen Filipinos were among the crew of a tanker that was seized by Nigerian pirates on September 14 in Lome, Togo, in West Africa, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reported.
The DFA said the local manning agency of the tanker, “MT Mattheos I”, has reported that all of its 23 crew members were well and that the families of the Filipino seamen have been informed of the incident.
The Spanish owners of the tanker hijacked off West Africa are hoping pirates just want to steal the crude, rather than hold the 23-member crew hostage for ransom.
Consultores de Navegacion spokeswoman Sheena Campbell said Thursday that the company had not heard from the Cyprus-flagged ship since it was hijacked Wednesday. “The normal case is that the only thing they are interested in is robbing the boat”.
