Pirates have released the MV Charelle bringing down to five the number of vessels with Filipino crew member held in Somalia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday.

The release of the New Zealand flagged MV Charelle also brought down to 67 the number of Filipino seafarers still held by pirates in Somalia.

The MV Charelle was hijacked by Somali pirates last June 13. Aside from the three Filipinos, it also had seven Sri Lankan crew members.

The DFA said MV Charelle was released by Somali pirates on December 3 “after a prolonged and difficult negotiation.”

According to the DFA, the repatriation of the three Filipino seafarers is now being arranged by the vessel’s principal. All three were reported to be in good health condition.

The Philippines has banned travel and labor deployment in Somalia. The DFA has been warning Filipino seafarers to avoid the Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean due to the rash of hijacking incidents in the area.

It will be recalled that Japan’s Self-Defense Force started implementing anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden in July of this year benefiting a large number of Filipino seafarers who account for majority of the crews on board the world’s fleet of commercial vessels. Also benefiting were crews from China, India, and South Korea.