MANILA–SOME 35 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) boarded the chartered boat by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that will take them out of tension-gripped Libya, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs reported.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said August 25 the boat picked up foreign workers, including Filipinos, from the port of Tripoli to take them to the city of Benghazi–an area being controlled by pro-democracy groups.

MANILA—A Filipino engineer has gone missing amid the ensuing violence in Libya, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

In a text message, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said that he received a report that a group of rebels “forcibly entered and ransacked a housing unit shared by Filipinos and other nationalities employed by a British-owned engineering company.”

A news report from TV 5 said that the engineer, whose identity the DFA refused to release, was a caretaker at the worksite of a British company that has been occupied by Libyan rebels.

NIGERIA (July 10) -- Sichem Peace, a Singapore flag chemical tanke, and six of its crew including two Filipinos, were seized by Nigerian armed militants on July 4 about 18 miles off Koko, Nigeria, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

The DFA has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Abuja to make representations with Nigerian authorities for the safe release of the Filipino crew, and for the Philippine Embassy in Singapore to facilitate the conduct of the negotiations.

GULF OF ADEN (Apr. 15) -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that a Greek-owned vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, April 14.

The MV Irene E.M. is the latest vessel to be captured by pirates off Somalian waters following the rescue of another vessel,  Maersk Alabama, by the U.S. Navy Seals, which left three Somalis dead. MV Irene E.M. has 22 Filipino seafarers on board.

LAGOS, Nigeria -- A private security official says gunmen have kidnapped three Filipinos and an Ukrainian from an oil-services ship in Nigerian waters.

MANILA (Feb. 26) -- According to Ed Malay, Department of Foreign Affairs' acting spokesman, the 13 Filipino seafarers convicted Feb. 20 in Nigeria for oil theft have been released. Citing a report from the Office of the Vice President, he said the owner of the M/T Akuada Corinthian City paid a $6,800 penalty for each seaman in lieu of a 5-year imprisonment. In view of kidnapping incidents, the Philippine government has imposed a work ban in Nigeria

ABUJA, Feb. 20 – Thirteen Filipinos were sentenced to five years in jail or a $6,770 fine on Friday after pleading guilty to handling oil products suspected to have been stolen in the Niger Delta.