Manila, Philippines – The Philippine government has confirmed that among the 22 crew members of the Houthi-attacked cargo ship at Red Sea, MV Eternity C—21 are Filipinos. However, their conditions are still unconfirmed.
As of now, there are no reports about the well-being of the seafarers, but the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) are still in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and other international media for updates.
On July 7 morning, the Greek-owned cargo ship loaded with the said seafarers was attacked by Houthi rebels on the coast off of Hodeidah Yemen.
“There were sea drones and fast-moving skiffs with armed assailants, and rocket-propelled grenades that were launched that significantly damaged the communications system of the ship,” DMW Secretary Cacdac said.
Furthermore, the migrant worker secretary also said that they are coordinating with the Manjing Agent and owner of the ship to assess their conditions.
Meanwhile, Cacdac together with other DMW officials, have personally reached out to the family of more than half of the Filipino crews, “We want to make sure that we ourselves are in contact with the family,” Cacdac reaffirmed.
As a precaution, he also asked owners of ships employing Filipinos to avoid going through the Red Sea to vouch for their safety.
“We asked shipowners carrying Filipino seafarers to please divert your voyagers. It is not enough to just say, we are taking the necessary safety precautions, the best way to spare our seafarers is to avoid the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Secretary Cacdac said in a DMW post. —Isa Estrellado, Contributor