9 Pinoy seafarers kidnapped off Benin coast

MANILA,Philippines — Nine Filipino seafarers of the Norwegian shipping vessel MV Bonita were kidnapped by suspected pirates off the coast of Benin in West Africa last Saturday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is monitoring the reported piracy incident.

In a statement, the DFA said it is in close contact with the seafarers’ manning agency and that it joins the relatives’ primary call to ensure the safety and security of the Filipino crew.

Norwegian shipping firm JJ Ugland, owner of the vessel, confirmed that the entire crew is Filipino and that their families have been contacted and will be kept informed.

The sailors’ condition was described as “good, taking into account what they have been through.”

In a statement, JJ Ugland said the attack happened early Saturday and the vessel docked in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, later the same day. The pirates boarded the ship while it was anchored off the coast. 

Meanwhile, the DFA could not as yet confirm the abduction of four crewmembers of another European-flagged oil tanker at the Gulf of Guinea on Monday morning. But the Togolese navy said the four – two Filipinos, one Greek and one Georgian – were kidnapped after pirates boarded the boat off the coast of Togo.

The DFA said the incident will “need primary verification.”