Filipino sailors on seized MSC Aries are now back in the Philippines

This image grab taken from a UGC video posted on social media on Saturday, April 13, 2024, shows Iran’s Revolutionary Guards rappelling down onto a container ship named, MSC Aries, near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday seized a container ship “related to the Zionist regime (Israel) in the Gulf,” state media reported, as tensions soar in the region.
Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — The three Filipino crew members of MSC Aries, which Iran seized in the Strait of Hormuz last April 13, safely returned to the Philippines on August 1.

According to Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, their homecoming was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the container ship owner, and the Iranian government.

“‘Yung tatlo na natira doon sa MSC Aries that was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards sa Strait of Hormuz ay nakauwi na,” he said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

(The three who remained on the MSC Aries, which was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz, have now returned home.)

READ: 4 Filipino crewmen on ship seized by Iran

“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa DFA, sa ship owner of course sa pagpayag na makauwi sila, even the Iranian government ay tumulong din,” he also said, adding that the crew member arrived in the country last Thursday.

(We are thankful to the DFA, the ship owner, of course, for allowing them to return home, and even the Iranian government for their help.)

READ: 1 Filipino seaman freed, 3 remain captive in ship seized by Iran, says DFA

Twenty-five seafarers were onboard MSC Aries. Four of them were Filipinos, while the rest were Russians, Indians, Pakistanis, and Estonians.

One of the four Filipinos already returned to the country last May due to illness.