DMW: 2 Filipinos dead in Hormuz strait attack
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has reported the death of two Filipino seafarers on board the Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker SIDR which was hit by unidentified projectiles as it was about to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the victims were among 16 Filipino seafarers on the vessel when it was attacked on Aug. 31. The rest were unharmed with the vessel now off the coast of Oman.
“Unfortunately, we have two crew members who died as a result of the attack,” Cacdac told reporters, adding that a fire broke out on the tanker but it was contained by the crew.
“We are already working on the immediate repatriation of all the crew members, including the two fatalities,” he said.
According to the DMW chief, he would personally visit the families of the victims although he did not disclose where they reside, citing privacy concerns.
The DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will also provide assistance to the families while government agencies coordinate with authorities in Oman on the repatriation of the Filipino seafarers, Cacdac said.
President Marcos has likewise ordered that assistance be given to the victims’ families, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Thursday.
“First and foremost, the President and the administration extend their condolences to the families of the two seafarers from Cabuyao, Laguna, and Daanbantayan, Cebu. The President has also ordered immediate assistance for the families of our two fellow citizens who perished, as well as the provision of all necessary support—including the benefits, compensation and insurance proceeds—rightfully due to them,” Castro said in a briefing at the Malancañang.
“The government will not neglect the families left behind by our two fellow citizens. Once again, we extend our condolences to the families of our two seafarers,” she added.
The DMW, meanwhile, remains on red alert amid continuing security risks in the Strait of Hormuz, Cacdac said. According to him, they were coordinating with the Department of National Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs on the security situation involving Filipino seafarers in the region.
About 3,000 Filipino seafarers remain aboard vessels in the wider Persian Gulf, although they are not necessarily all within the Strait of Hormuz, Cacdac said.
High-risk area
Since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, triggering the Middle East conflict, about 31 ships carrying 421 Filipino seafarers have been attacked while entering or leaving the strait.
Cacdac said that 268 of those seafarers have since returned to the Philippines. Of the 421, 406 were unharmed, 10 were injured but had recovered, three had died and one remains officially missing.
The DMW, however, is not imposing a blanket deployment ban on Filipino seafarers passing through the Strait of Hormuz unlike its policy covering the Northern Black Sea, because of the strategic importance of the waterway and the principle of freedom of navigation, he added.
Instead, shipowners must conduct risk assessments before voyages and ensure that adequate security measures are in place, including security protocols, possible escorts, armed guards and reporting mechanisms, he said.
“We are disallowing deployment to the extent that there is a refusal of sailing by the seafarer,” Cacdac stressed.
He said that the right of Filipino seafarers to refuse sailing in high-risk areas must be respected.
The DMW will investigate the incident, including whether the appropriate safety and risk-assessment measures were followed.
Cacdac said the SIDR appeared to have been heading toward the Strait of Hormuz after coming from the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates and sailing northward off Oman, but the vessel’s exact route remains subject to further determination.
For now, it is still too early to provide details on how the two Filipino seafarers died, he noted.
“It is not yet clear how exactly that happened. Usually, when we are still 24 to 48 hours removed from the event, we will find out the details as we go along,” Cacdac said.
He added that the DMW remains in contact with Bahri, the Saudi shipping company in charge of the vessel, and would meet with its top management to discuss the incident and the safety of Filipino crew members.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
