AsiaOperationsPiracy

Filipino seafarers abducted from chemical tanker off Benin return home

Ten Filipino seafarers who were abducted from De Poli Tankers’ vessel Davide B off the coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea on March 11 have arrived home.

The safe return home of the seafarers was made possible through close coordination between the Philippine government, through its Embassies in Abuja and The Hague, the Dutch owners of the tanker and the local manning agency Elburg Ship Management Philippines, Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

De Poli Tankers said earlier that all 15 seafarers that were abducted from its vessel had been released and were safe. “All crew members have been receiving medical checks and are in a relatively good condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last weeks,” De Poli statement said.

A 2016-built chemical tanker Davide B was boarded by nine armed men off Cotonou, Benin on March 11 with 15 out of 21 crewmembers kidnapped. The crew consisted of Ukrainian, Romanian, and Philippine nationals.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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