FILE PHOTO: A Filipino seafarer on board the MV Tutor vessel is missing, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac reveals on Friday, June 14, 2024. MV Tutor suffered missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, June 12. A total of 22 Filipino sailors were aboard the ship. (This photo by ABC shows the DMW building)
MANILA, Philippines — One of the 22 Filipino seafarers on board the MV Tutor vessel is missing, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac revealed Friday.
MV Tutor suffered missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, June 12.
“I will not disclose details with respect to the rescue for security reasons. We also have noted that there is one, of the 22, who is missing,” Cacdac told reporters in an online press conference.
“Tinamaan ‘yung barko kasi sa maselang bahagi – sa engine room also naapektuhan, which was flooded, and right now we are still in the process of trying to ascertain the — or trying to account for the one particular seafarer on that ship,” he added.
(The ship was hit in a delicate part – the engine room was also affected, it got flooded, and right now we are still in the process of trying to ascertain the — or trying to account for the one particular seafarer on that ship.)
READ: DFA condemns attack on Red Sea vessel with PH seafarers
Following appeals from Filipino crew members, Cacdac said Philippine government agencies are now working on their rescue “within the day.”
Cacdac likewise noted that the ship is still at sea and all other Filipinos on board are safe.
“I personally am part of a group chat and have conversed with the captain on board and the captain has assured me, us, of their safety pending rescue. We have also been mindful of their immediate concerns on board. We know that there [is] adequate food and supplies according to the captain,” he said.
READ: PH seafarers barred from vessels passing through Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
Before the Houthi attack on MV Tutor, the Philippine government already barred Filipino seafarers from boarding vessels passing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), manning agencies have already been required to submit a written guarantee that passenger or cruise ships with Filipino crew members will not traverse the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which have been designated as “war-like zones.”
Aside from the “affirmation letter,” the DMW also required manning agencies to submit the detailed itinerary of vessels during the processing of crew employment contracts or before deployment.
With the latest incident, a question was raised: Did the Filipino seafarers know their ship would traverse the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden?
Cacdac answered: “There had been approval or consent from the seafarers’ side with respect to taking part in that voyage.”
“But having said that, given this incident, we will review the current policies, the current processes, whether we could still further strengthen to seek more adequate protection for our seafarers,” he also said.