No Filipinos in oil tanker attacked by Houthi in Red Sea —DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said there are no known Filipino crews aboard an oil tanker which was recently attacked by Iran-backed Houthi militia in the Red Sea.

“We’re checking kung may Filipinos sa ship na ‘yun… Luckily, walang Filipinos so far sa latest attack,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said at a news forum in Quezon City.

(We're checking if there were Filipinos on that ship... Luckily, there were no Filipinos so far in the latest attack.)

Houthi released video footage of its “kamikaze” style attack on British oil tanker Cordelia Moon, in which the group used an unmanned explosive-loaded boat.

De Vega said Filipino seafarers have the “right to refuse sailing.”

He said the government issued a directive to ships passing the Red Sea to inform their Filipino crew if they would use their right to refuse sailing.

“If they refuse they can be repatriated by the agency,” the DFA official said.

In June, the Department of Migrant Workers prohibited Filipino seafarers from boarding ships under the same owners of previously attacked vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

That's after a Filipino sailor was killed when Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked bulk cargo carrier M/V Tutor. —KG, GMA Integrated News