MANILA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine foreign affairs office has directed its embassies in Singapore and Kenya to help in securing the safe release of the two Filipino crew of a Malaysian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates last month.

    In a press statement issued Thursday, the department said it has asked its embassy in Singapore to coordinate with the vessel's Singapore-based principal. The Philippine embassy in Nairobi will monitor negotiations between the principal and the Somali pirates.

    The Philippine foreign affairs department assured that the Filipino seafarers are in good condition.

    Pirates seized Thai Union 3 on Oct. 29 at 200 nautical miles north of Seychelles. The two seafarers on board the vessel are just among the growing numbers of Filipino seamen on board of hijacked vessels off Somalia.

    Over 200 Filipino seamen have been abducted by ransom-seeking pirates off Somali waters since 2008.

    The Philippine government does not negotiate nor pay ransom to kidnappers. But it gives ship owners a free hand in negotiating for the release of abducted Filipino sailors.

    Philippine officials have been seeking international help to protect seafarers from rising incidence of hijackings of vessels plying the pirate-infested routes of Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean.

    The government has also considered imposing ban against the deployment of Filipino seafarers in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding areas. But local seafarers' groups opposed this proposal, saying this policy would cost them their jobs and force shipping companies to turn to other nations for manpower.

    The Philippines is the world's biggest supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, or about a fifth of the world's seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide.