Whether the shipowner and the licensed manning agency followed rules on sending Filipino seafarers into dangerous waters is now the subject of a government inquiry tied to the deadly strike on the crude oil tanker MV SIDR, the Department of Migrant Workers said this week.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac laid out the review during a September 8 press briefing, framing it alongside the aid effort now underway for Filipino crew caught in maritime violence across the Middle East and the Black Sea. That inquiry, he said, will weigh several standards: safe passage, the duty to keep clear of warlike zones, the seafarer’s right to decline a voyage, the filing of risk assessments ahead of any deployment, and whether ships carry sufficient safety and security provisions on board.
The SIDR, a Saudi-flagged very large crude carrier operated by national shipping company Bahri, was struck late on August 31 as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rappler and Philstar. Saudi Arabia has attributed the attack to Iran, which has not publicly claimed responsibility. Sixteen Filipinos were aboard; two were killed and 14 came through unharmed.
The 14 survivors were due back in Manila on September 8, Cacdac said, with support from the Philippine Embassy and Migrant Workers Office in Oman and the Philippine Consulate General and Migrant Workers Office in Dubai. Arrangements to bring home the remains of the two who died were also moving forward as the necessary paperwork was finalized.
“We are providing, upon the full directive of the President, all necessary assistance,” Cacdac said.
The department’s attention extends well beyond the Gulf. Four ships in the Black Sea, carrying 82 Filipinos in all, remain under DMW watch. The 26 Filipino crew of MV GINGO have come ashore safely in Odesa, Ukraine, while the 23 aboard MV NOSTOS have been moved to a more secure spot in Türkiye. MV SIREN and its 21 Filipino crew have reached a safe port, and MV CHARA, carrying 12, was headed toward Samsun, Türkiye. Everyone on the four vessels has been accounted for and reported safe.
Coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense continues as officials gauge conditions in the Strait of Hormuz. The wider toll on Filipino crews has mounted since late February: Cacdac said 31 vessels carrying 421 Filipino seafarers have figured in incidents connected to the strait, with three killed, one still missing, and 268 already returned home, as reported by Philstar.
Underpinning the response is a standing DMW order that bars Filipino seafarers from ships sailing the Northern Black Sea, a stretch the department treats as an active theater of full-scale international armed conflict.
