Metro Manila, Philippines – Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said on Tuesday, March 17, that all 7,300 Filipino seafarers stranded in the Middle East were accounted for by their respective shipowners and licensed manning agencies.
Cacdac said the seafarers are still within the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman.
“We have been assured by their shipowners that they are safe where they are,” said Cacdac.
The numbers include the 50 seafarers who were involved in three separate attacks on shipping vessels in the previous days, two of which took place at the Strait of Hormuz and the other off the coast of Iraq.
He also cited DMW Advisory 11 regarding the amended list of the International Bargaining Forum, which entitles seafarers to have the right to refuse to sail into warlike and high-risk areas.
Other benefits include two months equivalent wage, free repatriation, and non-discrimination for future voyages. Doubled compensation for death and disability, along with a bonus equal to the basic wage payable for a minimum of five days.
“Needless to say, we have directed shipowners to avoid the area altogether and not to board Filipinos on ships that will navigate within the area,” Cacdac said.
Meanwhile, the department said it is continuing efforts, along with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, to provide assistance to the family of the still-missing Filipino seafarer George Francis Miranda.
The 46-year-old went missing after his tugboat was struck by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz while en route to assist a stranded container ship in the area on March 6.
