At around 8 o’clock this morning, Fort and I went to the NAIA Terminal 1 to witness the joyous and tearful reunion between the 23 crew members of hijacked MT Stolt Strength and their wives. Mario Antonio, head of the OWWA’s repatriation assistance division, deftly handled the homecoming arrangements.

The Blas F. Ople Policy Center has been assisting four of the wives who eventually became good friends and textmates. It felt good to be a part of the homecoming, and to see how the faces of the seafarers, weary from a long journey, lit up at the sight of their wives.

It would be difficult to even imagine what these seafarers experienced. In a press briefing at the airport’s VIP lounge, the ship captain revealed that one of their most dreadful moments was when they were stuck at sea after being released by the pirates, because of low fuel supply. A German ship came near enough to provide them with food, medicines, and water. Unfortunately, the same ship could only stay for 3 hours especially upon learning that the tanker that would add bunker fuel to MT Stolt Strength was still four days away.

Captain Abelardo (I wasn’t able to get his last name) said they were afraid that another group of pirates might attempt to hijack them again, especially since they were still within the radar radius of the Somalian sea bandits.

Eventually, the ship was able to reach safe harbor and dock at Oman. From Oman, they (the 23 seafarers) boarded a flight home.

Asked whether they were harmed by the pirates, the captain said that there were attempts especially against crew member Borreta and that he had to use his body to shield his shipmate. He stressed that the reason they were alive was due to prayers and God’s help. None of the seafarers volunteered any other information citing a consensus among them that only the captain of the ship would respond to media queries.

All throughout the interview, the shipping company’s representative was present and seated beside the captain. When asked about ransom payments, the representative declined, and explained that the company didn’t want to give any information that could jeopardize the welfare of remaining captives.