DMW confirms 2 Filipino sailors died in Yemen attack

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it will extend aid to the families of the Filipino seafarers who died and were injured in the Gulf of Aden due to an attack by Houthi rebels.

In a statement on Thursday, DMW confirmed two Filipino seafarers died, and another two were severely injured after their Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence was hit by a missile attack.

The vessel had a crew of 20, comprising one Indian, four Vietnamese and 15 Filipino nationals. Three armed guards—two from Sri Lanka and one from Nepal—were also on board, according to the BBC.

“The DMW is in touch with the ship’s manning agency and shipowner to ascertain the conditions of the rest of the ship’s crew, particularly the remaining Filipino crew members, as we have been informed that they have been taken to a safe port,” the agency said.

It is now working on the repatriation of the remaining Filipino crew members.

For its part, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of DMW, said it has already reached out to the affected families to provide immediate assistance and support.

“We stand in solidarity with the international community in supporting the call for continued diplomatic efforts to prevent further loss of life,” OWWA said in a separate statement.

Both agencies extended their condolences to the family of the slain seafarers.

The DMW reiterated its appeal to shipowners with ships navigating the Red Sea-gulf of Aden sea lanes to implement appropriate risk-mitigation measures, such as rerouting vessels and deploying armed security personnel onboard such vessels.

At least one other person was killed in the attack on True Confidence, according to the US military. They are the first confirmed deaths of crew members since the Houthis began attacks in mid-november in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

The Iran-backed group, which controls much of Yemen, hit the bulk commodities carrier around 11:30 a.m. Yemen time.

It was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthis in the last two days, the US military said, indicating how they continue to be able to assault vessels despite almost two months of airstrikes on their positions by American and British forces.

The group says its attacks are in support of Hamas in its war against Israel. They will continue, the Houthis say, until Israel pulls out of Gaza.

The Houthis said the True Confidence was “a US ship,” which its owners and the Washington said was incorrect.

Until recently, the vessel was owned by Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. A new owner took over in late February, according to the Equasis shipping registry. A representative for Oaktree declined to comment.