A bulk carrier with 21 Filipino crew members on board was hijacked by Somali pirates in waters 190 kilometers southeast of Salalah, Oman, Wednesday morning, increasing the number of kidnapped Filipino seafarers to 45, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The hijacking of the Panamanian flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier Voc Daisy was confirmed by the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi yesterday, the DFA said.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs is coordinating with the vessel’s local manning agency to determine the condition of the Filipino seafarers,” the DFA said.

The hijacking of the Voc Daisy follows the April 4 abduction of the South Korean-flagged Samho Dream and crew which included 19 Filipinos, the DFA said.

Also still in the hands of suspected Somali pirates are three Filipino seafarers from the hijacked vessel St. James Park, one on the m/v Talca, and one from the m/v Iceberg, the DFA said.

The number of Filipinos seized by Somali pirates had gone down to one-digit figures, the lowest in years, after successive releases in late 2009 and early 2010, the DFA said.

However, the successive seizures of the Samho Dream and the Voc Daisy this month raised the number of kidnapped Filipino seafarers to 45, the DFA said.

Filipino seafarers comprise 30 percent of the 1.5 million seafarers around the world.