The Department of Migrant Workers headquarters in Mandaluyong City. Photo taken on February 4, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA (UPDATE) — Houthi militants attacked two foreign-flagged vessels with Filipino crew, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed on Tuesday, as it verified the status of supposedly missing seafarers and those injured.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said MV Magic Seas was attacked last Sunday and Houthis “spared the 17 Filipino crew who are on board.”
They were then rescued and transported to Djibouti.
“Na-damage ang ship and was abandoned. The crew are headed home. We are hoping to have them home soon,” he said.
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He said the second ship, attacked off Yemen, was the MV Eternity C, a bulk carrier with 21 Filipino crew members.
Cacdac said they were verifying if Filipinos were among two reportedly missing seafarers and two others who were injured.
“They were attacked very, very early morning and probably late last night to around midnight to early morning. And there were sea drones and fast-moving skiffs with armed assailants and rocket propelled grenades that significantly damaged the communication systems of the ship,” said Cacdac.
“In the international media, there are reports of two missing and two wounded. We are still confirming this as of this hour. We are in close coordination with the manning agent, the principal, or the ship owner,” he added.
Cacdac said his team was ontacting the families of the seafarers to have a “virtual meeting” within the day.
“We are working closely with the DFA and also with the manning agent, and we also… reached out to international groups including the International Transport Federation, the Union of Seafarers and the Amosup here in the Philippines,” said Cacdac.
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He announced that the two foreign-flagged vessels “will definitely be prohibited from boarding Filipino seafarers on their ships.”
“Should they insist to navigate or traverse the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, they will now be prohibited from boarding Filipino seafarers in such ships. We do not want any other, any more Filipino casualties in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” he said.
‘RIGHT TO REFUSE SAIL’
Due to the incidents, Cacdac reminded shipowners and manning agencies to “report scheduled passage of ships and those Filipino seafarers on board in our OFW monitoring electronic system. including information on deployment and knowledge of any scheduled passage to the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.”
The migrant workers chief said shipowners and manning agencies should also respect seafarers’ right to refuse sailing.
Cacdac said seafarers should be allowed to submit their confirmation form on the right to refuse sailing to the email address sbhighrisk@dmw.gov.ph.
The following hotlines are also available for seafarers to assert their right to refuse sailing: (02) 1348, (02) 8722-11-44, (02) 8722-11-55.
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