BASILAN – Suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels hijacked a Vietnamese cargo ship and seized 6 crewmen, including its captain in a daring attack that left one sailor wounded on Friday near Basilan, one of 5 provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines.
The ship, MV Royal 16, was sailing off the province when 10 gunmen on a speedboat intercepted it off Sibago Island and boarded the vessel and abducted the crewmen. The identities of the hostages were not immediately known although other reports claimed they are Vietnamese sailors.
Another Filipino cargo ship, MV Lorcon Iloilo, passing near Basilan rescued the wounded sailor and provided him first aid.
No other details were immediately available, but among those abducted by the gunmen was the ship’s chief mate. The regional governor, Mujiv Hataman, said they are still waiting details surrounding the attack. “We are still waiting for final detail,” he said.
In December 2015, the MV Royal 16 ran aground off the coastal village of San Francisco in Legazpi City in Albay province in the Philippine region of Bicol during a storm. The ship, a 3000-ton bulk cargo vessel, is also being manned by Filipino sailors.
The latest attack came hours after President Duterte arrived home from his visit to Malaysia where he met with Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Razak said the Philippines has allowed Malaysia to enter the country’s southern border in hot pursuit of Abu Sayyaf rebels and kidnap gangs following the slew of ransom kidnappings in Sabah just near the Muslim province of Tawi-Tawi.
Manila also allowed Indonesia to do the same following the spate of Abu Sayyaf attacks on its tugboats in Sabah and Tawi-Tawi. The Philippines has joint border patrol agreements with both Malaysia and Indonesia. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding over a dozen Malaysian and Indonesian sailors in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)
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