Manila - The Philippine government is closely monitoring the condition of 120 Filipino seamen being held by pirates in hijacked ships off Somalia, a senior official said Wednesday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Philippines is also planning to prohibit the deployment of Filipino seamen on ships that would pass through the African country's dangerous waters.

"What the government is doing right now is to continue to monitor the negotiations being done by the manning agencies with the pirates in Somalia," he said.

"At the moment there are no planned or no contemplated action as strong as being done by other countries like what the United States and the French governments have done to rescue their citizens," he added.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the 120 captive Filipino crew members were aboard seven ships hijacked off the Gulf of Aden since November 2008.

Wives of some of the seamen have urged the Philippine government to do more to help free their husbands following the daring rescue of a US ship skipper earlier in the week.

The Philippines is the world's leading suppliers of seamen, with over 350,000 sailors manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide. (dpa)