Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) reported at the CREW Connect Global Maritime Conference that a total of 4,687 Filipino seafarers continue to work in high-risk areas, including those threatened by piracy and armed conflict.
OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said that 740 Filipino seafarers, out of this number, were attacked aboard vessels sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden – waters situated in the midst of ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Cacdac noted that several other government agencies have stepped up their assistance to seafarers.
He said the Philippine Ports Authority has urged ship owners to reroute their vessels. However, he acknowledged the need for stronger protocols and guidelines to assist seafarers facing direct threats.
In the same conference, BIMCO’s Director of Maritime Safety & Security, Captain Ashok Srinivasan, underscored the gravity of the situation, saying: “Shipping is under attack, and our seafarers are being attacked and killed in the Red Sea. This is not the kind of risk that anyone should ask our seafarers to bear.”
He said the escalating violence in those waters is beyond the scope of the shipping industry and non-governmental organizations, and called for direct government intervention.
Jay Platt, Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Shipping, echoed the call for action, citing the ordeal of the crew of the tanker Galaxy Leader in November last year.
Platt said, “We still have 25 crew members on board the vessel, and can you imagine the distress they and their families are going through at this moment and all our efforts have come to nothing.”
He added: “Among the 25 hostage crew members of the Galaxy Leader, 17 are Filipino nationals. They are still being held by the Houthi rebels who hijacked the ship.”
