DMW: 3,300 Pinoy seafarers opt to sail in high-risk waters amid rebel attacks

At least 3,300 Filipino seafarers have signified their willingness to sail in high-risk areas amid recent rebel attacks, Secretary Hans Cacdac of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Monday.

Cacdac made the response when OFW party-list lawmaker Marissa Magsino asked him about updates on DMW policies on seafarers aboard ships sailing in high-risk areas.

A total of 22 Filipino seafarers of  MT Sounion were recently repatriated back to the Philippines in the aftermath of an attack launched by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, leaving the ship on fire and without a power supply. 

“We have freedom of navigation...a longstanding maritime freedom that some shipowners and seafarers still exercise. And based on our data, since we started tracking the seafarers plying that route at the beginning of the year, around 3,300 have registered and have signified their willingness [to sail] or non-refusal sa paglayag dito sa mga barkong [dadaan sa mga] ito (high-risk areas),” Cacdac told the House appropriations panel during the budget deliberations on the agency’s proposed P7.8 billion budget for 2025.

“Around 128 [Filipino seafarers] have exercised their right of refusal [to sail in high-risk areas]. Because our point here is that the freedom to navigate in international waters weighs just as much as the seafarers' right of refusal,” Cacdac added.

Cacdac said that the DMW already implemented policies which allows the Filipino seafarers to easily exercise their right of refusal via downloadable forms, provision of a hotline or verbal manifestation of their right of refusal.

In addition, Cacdac said the DMW has imposed restrictions on Filipino seafarers from sailing in high-risk areas.

“This [restriction] means that if a certain ship owner with Filipino seafarers on board, according to our records, has been a target of at least 40 attacks, we won’t allow Filipino seafarers to board those ships anymore.

“And we have already barred Filipino seafarers from boarding nine ship owners which navigate the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden because these ship owners have already been subjected to attacks. These nine ship owners cover the three major cases such as the ship taken hostage off the port of Hodeida, Yemen, the incident where two Filipino seafarers died, and another incident where the Filipino seafarer is still missing,” Cacdac said.

Cacdac, however, said that at least 70% of the ships have diverted their routes to ensure the safety of their crew members based on the data from the international shipping community,

“Around 70% of ships have indeed diverted [routes]. They don’t pass the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden anymore. They navigate the sea via the Cape of Good Hope in Africa,” Cacdac said.

“It's an additional 15 to 20 days of voyage time, but still, it's worth the safety and security of our seafarers,” Cacdac added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News