Agencies told to limit seaman deployment to hotspots

THE PHILIPPINE government on Tuesday said it would limit the deployment of Filipino seamen to vessels that sail through known global hotspots after a recent missile attack by Iran-backed rebels on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

“Manning agencies are following the directive of the government to limit the presence of Filipino seafarers or [give] them the option to refuse,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo A. de Vega told a news briefing at the presidential palace.

Houthi rebels attacked the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier M/V True Confidence on March 6 while in the Gulf of Aden, killing two Filipino crew members whose bodies were yet to be recovered.

“Houthi attacks occur practically daily on ships traversing the area,” Mr. De Vega said. “And this is the first time we’ve had Filipino injuries or casualties.”

He said the Department of Migrant Workers in mid-February updated its list of “warlike and high-risk areas” to include the Yemeni coast.

“Under such classification, in a warlike operation area, the seafarers have to be given the right to refuse sailing, with repatriation at company cost and compensation equal to two months of wages,” he added.

“If they continue to go, they have to have a bonus equivalent to their basic wage or double compensation, obviously, also for death and disability benefits.”

Other high-risk areas include the Gulf of Guinea near Liberia-Ivory Coast and the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait in Eastern Europe.

The Northern Black Sea Region, all ports in Ukraine, and the Black Sea are still considered high-risk areas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. De Vega said they expect more Filipino sailors to decline opportunities in areas where Houthi attacks have been persistent.

“The statistics show they are declining because there are few Filipino seafarers now aboard ships plying the route,” he said.

Each of the 13 Filipino crew members who survived the missile attack on Mar. 6, including three who were still in hospital, were given P55,000 in cash aid, Mr. De Vega said.

Meanwhile, the Israel Embassy in Manila offered its condolences to the families of the Filipino seamen who died and the government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

“During these trying times, we express our solidarity with the Philippines and join in condemning terrorism,” it said in an e-mailed statement.

“The attacks by the Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean violate the freedom of navigation, threaten the welfare of seafarers and impact the shipment sector, supply chains and prices of oil,” it added.