Filipino seamen recall ordeal during Houthi attack on their ship

The 21 Filipino seafarers, who were rescued from a ship that was damaged by a Houthi attack, arrived safely back in the Philippines on Monday, according to Sandra Aguinaldo’s “24 Oras” report.

In a press briefing, Christian Domrique, captain of MV Tutor, recalled the incident, saying the Houthi rebels used fishing boats as dummies in the attack.

“Nung malapit na, dummy pala, sobrang bilis po nya. Lumiko tapos hinabol kami…’Yung sumunod po na pagsabog ay around 13:00 attack by drone naman sa kabilang side ng barko,” said Domrique. 

(The dummy was fast. It maneuvered before chasing us. A drone attack also occurred at 13:00 on the other side of our ship.)

All but one Filipino, who was believed to be trapped in the engine room, was rescued from the maritime vessel. They arrived at the Port of Manama, Bahrain at around 5:30 p.m local time on Saturday.

“On behalf of my crew, nagpapasalamat po ako sa Maykapal. Sa lahat po ng sangay ng gobyerno ng tumulong sa amin hindi ko na kayang isa-isahin, maraming salamat sa aming kumpanya at sa US Navy na tumulong po sa amin,” the captain added. 

(On behalf of my crew, we thank the Lord. To all the agencies of the government who helped us that I am unable to mention each of them, thank you very much to our company [employer], the US Navy.)

The seafarers underwent medical checkup upon their arrival, the Department of Health (DOH) said. 

“No one is injured. Majority of them nung kausap ko kanina, para silang na-battle shock so yung post traumatic stress,” DOH Secretary Teddy Herbosa said. 

(No one is injured. Majority of them seemed to have experienced battle shock so they may possibly be under post-traumatic stress.)

The Liberia-flagged coal carrier was attacked by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Wednesday.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), for its part, previously said Filipino seafarers have the right to refuse boarding in ships passing through Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“We will meet with maritime stakeholders this coming week to discuss this. We want to review the current policy and see who we can make the policy stronger for the better protection of seafarers,” DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac. 

MV True Confidence

Meanwhile, the DMW said authorities have recovered the remains of the two missing Filipino seafarers onboard MV True Confidence, the merchant ship attacked by Houthi rebels while plying the Gulf of Aden on March 6.

“The human remains of the two crew members of true confidence will be sent home very very soon,” said Cacdac. — Sundy Locus/BAP, GMA Integrated News