Two other Filipinos ‘severely injured’
(Eagle News)–The Department of Migrant Workers has confirmed the deaths of two Filipino seafarers during the most recent attack by Houthi rebels on ships plying the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In a statement, the DMW said two other Filipino seamen, whose identities were also withheld due to “reasons of privacy”—were “severely injured” as well.
“We in the (DMW) sincerely extend our deepest condolences to the family and kin of our slain, heroic seafarers…We pray for their immediate recovery (of those injured),” the DMW said.
According to the DMW, it is extending “the fullest support and assistance to the families of our seafarers” upon President Bongbong Marcos’ directive.
The DMW said it is also 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,” adding that it received information they were taken to a safe port.
It said it has coordinated with the principal shipowner and manning agency “to work on the repatriation of the remaining Filipino crew members.”
“The DMW reiterates its call to shipowners and with ships navigating the volatile Red Sea — Gulf of Aden sea lanes to comply strictly with the ‘expanded high-risk areas’ designation and to implement appropriate risk mitigation measures, such as rerouting vessels and deploying armed security personnel on board those vessels,” it said.
“The DMW also calls for continued diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and to address the cause of the current conflict in the Middle East,” it added.
Quoting the US Central Command, international media reports said Houthi rebels attacked the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk commercial carrier, on Wednesday.
The Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping began in October following the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
A Houthi statement released after the attack said they will not stop in the Red Sea until Israeli “aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”