11 Pinoy seafarers on seized tanker going home, says DFA

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said the Filipino seafarers’ contracts have officially expired and their manning agency has already replaced them with foreign crewmembers.

Nine will arrive in the Philippines on Sunday while the other two will fly next week, March 13, he added. “For some piece of good news, more Filipino nationals are now returning so we have another batch of 11 who will be coming home,” he said in an interview Thursday.

There were originally 18 Filipinos aboard the oil tanker when it was seized by Iranian authorities in January in the Gulf of Oman while in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and Turkey. One was released by Iran in February.

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The attack on MV True Confidence was the first fatal assault due to the tension at the Red Sea, one of the important trade routes from Europe, Middle East, and Asia.

“We also call on the agencies to look into repatriating our seafarers sailing through the Gulf of Aden to avoid a repeat of this horrific incident,” Villanueva said, to which Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Imee Marcos and Sherwin Gatchalian agreed.

As chair of the House committee on overseas affairs, Salo urged the Department of Migrant Workers and the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure immediate assistance for the repatriation of the victims’ remains. He also called on the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to provide immediate assistance to the bereaved families, as well as the injured Filipino crew members and their families. In addition, Salo called on the shipowner or manning agency concerned to extend immediate assistance to the victims and their families.

“We appeal to the United Nations, world powers and other international organizations to take prompt measures to deter any recurrence of such attacks. More than the economic toll that these attacks have caused, are the lives of innocent civilians, like our Filipino seamen, at stake,” he added.