DMW Sec. Hans Leo Cacdac —Arnel Tacson/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — All Filipino crew on board the MV Transworld Navigator attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea are safe and out of danger.
In a radio interview on Monday, Migrant Workers Chief Hans Cacdac confirmed that all 27 crew of the bulk carrier are Filipino seafarers.
“It’s an all Filipino crew and they are all safe. The ship was hit and they are now out of the high-risk area. I can’t disclose the exact location, but they are safe now,” said Cacdac in an interview over DZBB.
READ: PH seafarers barred from vessels passing through Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
“Reports would seem it happened yesterday. I just don’t know the exact time, and as far as I know, the ship was attacked three times but was not severely hit in the sense that it was immobilized. This is unlike the MV Tutor, which was disabled and had to stop,” he added.
According to Cacdac, none of the 27 Filipinos were injured, but they might be repatriated back to the Philippines once the MV Transworld Navigator reaches a safe port.
Prior to the incident, the Philippine government had already barred Filipino seafarers from boarding vessels passing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Department of Migrant Workers required manning agencies to submit a written guarantee that passenger or cruise vessels with Filipino crew members will not traverse the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which have been designated as “war-like zones.”
In addition to the “affirmation letter,” the DMW also required manning agencies to submit their vessels’ detailed itinerary during the processing of crew employment contracts or before deployment.