21 March 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand today confirmed to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Filipino seaman Mr. Edgardo Pagliawan Sadang, third engineer of the Malaysian-registered tugboat Idaten seized by pirates last week in the Malacca Straits, was recovered on 19 March 2005 along with two other Japanese crewmembers by Thai marine authorities in the waters off the coastal province of Satun in southwestern Thailand.

Philippine Ambassador Antonio V. Rodriguez reported to the Department that Satun Police Colonel Somkiat Jewton, officer-in-charge of the case, informed the Embassy by telephone today on the recovery of Mr. Sadang and the two Japanese crewmembers who are now under police custody.   Satun province is about eight hours by land from the capital Bangkok.

Ambassador Rodriquez also informed the Department that the Embassy already spoke with Mr. Sadang by telephone and he said that their captors had transferred them to a Thai fishing vessel on Saturday, 19 March 2005.  The captain of the fishing boat then immediately contacted Thai authorities that dispatched a Marine Police team to fetch the crewmembers.

Mr. Sadang informed the Embassy that he already underwent a medical check-up and that he was in good physical condition.    He indicated his desire to go home as soon as possible.   He has also sought the assistance of the Embassy and his employer to recover his personal belongings.

Ambassador Rodriquez said that Mr. Tetsuhiko, Executive Director of Nippon Steel, the company that contracted the tugboat, assured the Embassy that Mr. Sadang was in good physical condition and that his passport was recovered.   Mr. Tetsuhiko informed Ambassador Rodriquez that once investigation being conducted by the Royal Thai Police is completed today, Mr. Sadang and his two Japanese colleagues will be flown to Penang and brought to Manila and Tokyo.

In line with this positive development, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) immediately instructed the Embassy to dispatch a consular officer to Satun to meet Mr. Sadang and gather information on the incident.  The Embassy representative will also extend all possible assistance to Mr. Sadang to facilitate his return to Manila.

OUMWA is also coordinating with Mr. Sadang’s manning agency, Amethyst Shipping Company, Inc. to ensure that all possible assistance is extended to the freed Filipino.  Amethyst Shipping also confirmed Mr. Sadang’s release to the DFA and has informed the seaman’s family in Palawan of the good news.

Meanwhile, OUWMA instructed the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to continue monitoring the case of the five other Filipino crewmembers of the tugboat Idaten who were not taken hostage.  The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur informed the Department that the Idaten arrived in Penang, Malaysia on 15 March, a day after the abduction took place, and has since left the Malaysian port for Batham, Indonesia en route to Singapore.

Armed pirates in the Malacca Strait took hostage the 41-year old Mr. Sadang and his Japanese crewmembers, Captain Nobuo Inoue and Chief Engineer Shunji Kuroda, on 14 March.  The Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur reported that it received a distress call from the tugboat at around 6:00 p.m.  At the time of the attack, the Japanese-owned, Malaysian-registered Idaten was towing the barge Kuroshio 1 somewhere north of the Strait near Penang Island.

The Royal Marine Police of Malaysia immediately launched a hot pursuit of the pirates to rescue the abducted seafarers.  END.