The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Friday the release of the Greek vessel MV Delvina, including 14 Filipino seafarers, after it was hijacked by Somali pirates in early November.

According to a report of the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya to the DFA, the Filipino crew are safe and in good health, adding that the vessel and its crew are now heading to Mombasa, Kenya.

The latest release has reduced the number of hijacked Filipino seafarers off the coast of Somalia to 53 in four vessels. Out of the 53 Filipino seafarers captured by Somali pirates, 17 were onboard the vessel Win Far 161; two onboard Thai Union 3; 18 onboard MV Filitsa; and 16 onboard MT Maran Centaurus.

Three Filipino seafarers onboard MV Charelle was released by Somali pirates last December 3.

MV Delvina was hijacked by Somali pirates last November 5 while cruising northeast of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Aside from the 14 Filipino crewmembers, MV Delvina also had seven Ukranians onboard.

The Philippines has travel and labor deployment bans to Somalia.

The DFA has been reiterating that Filipino seafarers should stay away from the Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean due to hijacking incidents in the area.

“The Philippine government continues to step up preventive and remedial efforts to address the continued increase in the number of piracy incidents and hostage-taking involving Filipino crew seafarers off the coast of Somalia,” the DFA said.

It noted that the Department of Labor and Employment recently announced its initiative to require Filipino seafarers to undergo anti-piracy training to teach them how to deal with piracy situations and how to avoid them.