(Eagle News) — Ten Filipino seafarers who were kidnapped off the coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea have arrived in the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the seafarers arrived at the Clark airport on April 19.
Their return 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 Inc.
The seafarers were part of the 15 crew members who were abducted from the chemical tanker Davide B by nine armed intruders who boarded the vessel on March 11.
Six other Filipino crew members were spared from the kidnapping and were earlier repatriated on April 3.
“All crew members are in a relatively good condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last four weeks,” the chemical tanker’s ship management De Poli Ship said in an April 15 statement.
