Somali pirates released over the weekend a Panama-flagged merchant vessel with 16 Filipino crew members, after holding it for 10 months.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia in the easternmost part of Africa is a major concern for Filipino seamen, who comprise nearly 30 percent of all the seafarers around the world.

Somali pirates released on Saturday the Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned MV Eleni P with 19 Filipinos, seven months after it was hijacked, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Somali pirates seized on Saturday a Singaporean liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker with 14 Filipino crew members off Kenya.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali pirates on Wednesday seized a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean with 22 crew members on board, the European Union Naval Force said.

ROBI – It took the capture and rescue five days later of an American hostage to draw world attention back to the long-running phenomenon of Somali piracy.

Number of Pinoys held captive in Somalia rise to 120 MARK JOSEPH UBALDE, GMANews.TV

An seafarers’ advocacy group urged the Philippine government on Monday to speed up negotiations for the release of 92 Filipino seafarers held hostage by Somali pirates.

The 18 Filipino seamen on MV Chemstar Venus, which Somali pirates hijacked last November 18, have made an appeal to the Philippine government to negotiate for their release immediately as “time is running out” for them.