MANILA, Philippines – Somali pirates who hijacked the Greek-owned M/V Irene are demanding $2.8 million in exchange for the release of the ship and the Filipino crewmembers but the ship owner is having difficulty raising the money.

Gemma Casas, a Filipino journalist based in the Northern Marianas, said HMES Winnipeg of Canada sent a helicopter to the Irene’s location when it was attacked but the pirates were too quick and succeeded in capturing the ship.

Casas’s brother Joven is one of the Filipino crewmembers.

The Canadian ship was scheduled to return to Winnipeg this week.

The Casas family and the families of the other victims, including American human rights advocate Wendy Doromal, appealed to the Philippine government, the United Nations, the African Union, and other international organizations to intervene for the immediate release of the hostages.

The victim’s families learned that the pirates were demanding $2.8 million.

“I hope my son comes out of this hostage situation alive. This is a tragic incident and no family should suffer the same,” said Erlinda Casas, a 68-year-old retired government employee.

Her husband, Benito, 73, appealed to the Philippine government to speed up the negotiation process for the release of the crew.

Doromal said the international community should unite to fight international sea piracy.

“The international community needs to unite to end the piracy of the coast of Somalia to ensure that the world’s seafarers are protected. This is not merely an economic issue, but more importantly it is a human rights issue,” he said.

Doromal and other cause-oriented sympathizers of the hostages have set-up a page on Facebook – Liberate Somali Pirate Hostages – dedicated to the plight of M/V Irene and the growing problem of terror at sea.

“I appeal to the public to join our grassroots effort in signing the petition and contacting officials to demand the release of the hostages of the M/V Irene, E.M. and other pirated vessels,” he added.

The online petition to free the crew of the Irene can be accessed at hhttp://www.petitiononline.com/mvirene/petition.html.

The family of ship captain Necitas Garcia is also appealing for the international community’s intervention. Garcia’s 21-year-old nephew was also among the hostages.

The Garcia family of Tanauan, Batangas said the captain, already in his mid-50s, was supposed to be married for the first time had the ship sailed home as scheduled last month.

The other crewmembers are from the provinces of Iloilo, Lucena, Cebu, and Metro Manila.

M/V Irene’s hostage crisis is one of the longest in Somalia’s history.

Casas said the US military assured them that the 22 Filipino seamen aboard the captured ship remain alive but the exact health condition of the crew, whose captain complained last week that they have no more food and water, could not be ascertained.

She said intelligence sources sent word that the Irene crew are “still alive and safe,” allaying their families’ fears that some of them may have already perished.

Source: Philstar

By Pia Lee-Brago

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