Six Vietnamese sailors kidnapped by Philippine terrorists.

Early on the morning of November 11th, an armed group, suspected to be from the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, attacked a Vietnamese cargo ship off the coast of Basilan province (Philippines), kidnapping six Vietnamese crew members. Vietnamese authorities have launched an investigation.

Photo of the MV Royale 16 on Facebook.

The Philippine news outlet Rappler, citing information from the Philippine Coast Guard, reported that a group of 10 attackers boarded the MV Royale 16 while it was near Sibago Island. The group injured one crew member and abducted six Vietnamese nationals. It is currently unclear where they took the abducted individuals.

Mr. Do Tuan Anh, head of the Citizen Protection Department, Consular Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam), said that the Consular Department has received the information and has contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines, the Search and Rescue Committee, and the Maritime Department to urgently verify the company that owns the attacked ship, its itinerary, the cargo it was carrying, and the number of crew members on board.

The Consular Department is also coordinating with the Embassy to contact Philippine authorities to search for the kidnapped sailors.

The Vietnamese ship attacked and its crew kidnapped off the coast of the Philippines was a general cargo ship belonging to Quy Sang Shipping Company (Diem Dien town, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province).

When attacked, the ship had 19 crew members on board, and six were subsequently kidnapped, including the ship's captain and first mate.

According to an update at 1:30 PM today, November 11th, from the Mindanao Examiner, the Abu Sayyaf Islamic militant group is believed to have attacked and kidnapped the crew of the MV Royale 16.

According to Mindanao Examiner, the captain of the MV Royal 16 was also among the six people kidnapped.

Basilan is one of the five provinces in the Muslim autonomous region of Mindanao in southern the Philippines.

The attackers reportedly approached the MV Royal 16 in a speedboat and quickly climbed onto the deck, overpowering the crew.

According to several shipping information websites, MV Royal 16 is a cargo ship flying the Vietnamese flag and registered in Hai Phong. The Facebook page named MV Royal also uses MV Royal 16 as its profile picture.

According to the Inquirer (Philippines), after receiving the report, the Philippine Coast Guard ordered the nearby cargo ship MV Lorcon Iloilo to come to the rescue.

The Mindanao Examiner reported that sailors on the MV Lorcon Iloilo (Philippine nationality) provided first aid to an injured sailor on the MV Royal 16.

Mujiv Hataman, the governor of the Muslim Autonomous Region of Mindanao, said they are still gathering more official information about the attack.

About 10 days ago, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned the possibility of joint patrols to combat piracy and hostage-taking for ransom.

According to the Philippine Inquirer on November 3, President Duterte is urging Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to conduct joint patrols at sea to combat piracy, hostage taking, and other maritime crimes in the three countries' shared waters.

He said he wanted to discuss the matter with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during his official visit to Kuala Lumpur.

"We have many things to discuss regarding piracy in the Malacca Strait. Hostage and other crimes are on the rise in this region," the Philippine leader told reporters in Davao City earlier this month.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper