Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 22) — Seventeen Filipino seafarers were among those taken hostage after Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, government officials confirmed Wednesday.
CNN Philippines first confirmed this through Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
They were part of a total of 25 crew members taken hostage by the rebels on Nov. 19, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) also said in a statement. Earlier reports showed the other victims are from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico, and Romania.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is “doing everything in [its] power” to ensure that the seafarers will be able to return home safely.
“DFA is in coordination with their counterparts in Iran, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for updates, and the DMW is in regular communication with the families of the hostages,” Marcos wrote in a social media post.
In a separate statement, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza also said there is “an all-of-government approach and various government agencies are meeting and working together on this.”
The DMW said it has already talked to the families of those taken hostage and gave assurance of assistance.
The department — which has primary jurisdiction over assistance cases involving seafarers — added that it is working with officials of the registered shipping and manning agency of the sailors’ vessels in monitoring the situation.
A CNN report earlier stated that the group allegedly backed by Iran seized the vessel, believing it was an Israeli ship. This claim, however, was refuted by the Israeli government.
Tel Aviv also said there were no Israelis among the crew.
Officials from the Japanese government, meanwhile, confirmed that one of its companies operated the ship. While there were no Japanese on board, they are now working with Israel for the release of the vessel.
