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Six Filipinos were among 30 crewmembers of a French luxury cruise yacht taken hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The crew of French-registered cruise ship Le Ponant, including five Filipinos and one Filipina cabin steward, were “safe and in good condition, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said, quoting the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But from the expressed wishes of their family, Conejos said he could not release the names of the Filipinos. They were deployed by the manning agency Magsaysay Maritime Inc., he said.

The 32-cabin, four-deck yacht was sailing between Somalia and Yemen when pirates seized it on Friday, French officials said. There were no passengers on board at the time.

Conejos said he has instructed the Philippine embassy in Paris to “get in touch with the French authorities and impress on them that we seek the early and safe release of hostages.”

The owner of the yacht, French shipping group CMA-CGM, said it was "working closely with the foreign ministry. The French authorities are handling the situation."

France, which has its largest foreign military base in nearby Djibouti, flew a helicopter over the ship on Friday.

Conejos said that the nationality of the hijackers remained unknown, adding authorities believe the ship was anchored in the northeast coast of Somalia.

The Philippine embassy in Manama has also been instructed to confirm the incident with the United States 6th Fleet, which is part of the coalition naval forces patrolling these dangerous international waters, he said.

When asked about the identity and the demands of the hijackers, the Philippine official said he did not have any other information about the incident.

The 850-ton Ponant, equipped with lounges, bar and restaurant, had been due to host a cruise between Alexandria in Egypt and Valletta in Malta on April 21-22, its owner said.

The ship is one of three owned by the Marseille-based cruise operator Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, which presents itself as France's leading cruise provider.

Pirate attacks are frequent off Somalia's 3,700-kilometer (2,300-mile) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors not to come closer than 200 nautical miles to its shore.

Somalia, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea on a major trade route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, has not had a functional government since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

 With Agence France-Presse

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