Philippines orders piracy classes

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The Philippines has ordered its seamen, comprising about a third of the world's commercial sailors, to go through anti-piracy training.

The labour ministry said the classes must be completed before any future seafarer is allowed to go to sea.

The eight-hour classes will start on 15 January, the ministry said, and even experienced sailors must take them.

Philippine sailors have been found on many of the ships recently taken hostage by pirates.

Labour Secretary Marianito Roque said sailors will be taught how to use fire hoses, detect approaching pirates and manoeuvre their vessels to prevent pirates from scaling them, and who to contact in the event of attack.

Escape and survival

They will also learn how to manage hostage crises if they are taken captive, but they will not carry arms or receive firearms training.

"Regardless if they are old or new sailors, they have to participate in the training... The goal is to prevent, avoid, escape and survive piracy,'' said Mr Roque.

The programme is based on one used by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, which operates about 80% of the world's tankers.

The Philippines supplies about a third of the 1.5 million commercial seafarers worldwide.

Filipino mariners sent home a record $2.5bn for the first nine months of 2009, the Manila Bulletin newspaper reported.

Somali pirates have kidnapped 470 Filipinos since 2006, and are still holding at least 74 aboard six ships, according to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos.

Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, are thought to have hijacked more than 80 ships in the past two years, and currently hold 14 vessels and close to 300 crew members.

The International Maritime Employers Committee (Imec) based in London has recommended that other countries replicate the training as a requirement for deployment of all seafarers.