26 Filipino sailors kidnapped off African coast
Updated
![Somali troops patrol a port town in the north of the African country notorious for pirate activity off its coast. [Reuters]](http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/img/news/base/somalia_troops_rtr_220408.jpg?<BR> "Somali troops patrol a port town in the north of the African country notorious for pirate activity off its coast. [Reuters]")
Somali troops patrol a port town in the north of the African country notorious for pirate activity off its coast. [Reuters]
The Philippine government says efforts are under way to secure the release of 26 Filipino sailors kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Our reporter, Shirely Escalante, says Philippine officials say the Filipinos on board the Greek-owned, Maltese-registered MT Centauri are safe and unharmed.
Philippine embassies in Greece and Kenya have been instructed to coordinate with ship owners and international maritime authorities to secure the safe release of the crew.
Foreign affairs undersecretary Estaban Conejos Jr. says a total of 80 Filipino sailors aboard different ships have been abducted in Somalia since July.
He says Filipino sailors make up one-third of the world's maritime labour and are more prone to abductions than any other nationality.
There have been local efforts to prevent Filipino sailors from being deployed on ships taking pirate-infested routes such as those near Somalia.
