Somali pirates have released the 17 Filipino crewmembers of Taiwanese-flagged FV Win Far 161 that was hijacked 10 months ago, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Friday.

MECO chairman Tomas I. Alcantara said the Filipino seafarers, who were freed on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m, are now safe and sailing to Port Lois in Mauritius where they are expected to arrive in nine days.

He got the confirmation from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs late Thursday night about the release of the 30-crew Win Far 161, bringing down the number of seized Filipinos in pirates-infested Somalia to 41.

The DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), meanwhile, verified the reported Feb. 11 release of the Filipino crew with the owner of the fishing vessel based in Taiwan.

The vessel owner assured the DFA that “the Filipino crew were all in good condition” and that they are “currently arranging the crew’s repatriation to the Philippines,” the DFA statement said. The DFA said the details for the repatriation are still being coordinated.

Alcantara said from Port Lois, the crewmen will sail to the 700-ton fishing vessel’s home port in Kaohsiung where they are set to arrive after about 20 days.

He said his office will be coordinating with the DFA to determine the appropriate medical and travel assistance needed by the seafarers.

"We are grateful that our compatriots have been released, and are coordinating with Taiwanese officials to ensure that they are speedily brought back to Taiwan so we can better take care of them," he said.

He said MECO and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) through their Kaohsiung offices assured that the Filipino sailors received their wages throughout their captivity, and the proceeds were sent back home to their dependents.

The three other crewmembers of the Win Far 161, which was seized last April 4 near an island in the Seychelles, more than 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia, died in captivity. Two of them were Indonesians, while the other one was a Chinese sailor.

Apart from 17 Filipino crewmembers, the vessel was also carrying onboard four Indonesians, four from the China, and two from Taiwan.