Four days after two blasts struck the bulk carrier M/V Cape Dao off Oman, the five Filipinos among its 28 crew members are back in the Philippines.
The seafarers landed at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport late Sunday, September 27, on Qatar Airways Flight QR928, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said. Personnel from OWWA, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and the Manila International Airport Authority’s medical team handled their processing at the terminal, where the crew received medical checks, welfare support, and special financial assistance.
The ship was sailing from Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates toward India on September 23 when it was hit. One strike landed on the engine room and another on the C-deck, which houses the crew’s accommodation, and the damage set the vessel on fire. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported the ship burning and adrift after all crew had been evacuated, and initially listed two casualties.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said the vessel, which it identified as flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, was attacked about 4.6 kilometers off Musandam, the Omani exclave bordering the UAE, and that an Omani warship rescued 27 people and gave them medical treatment. OWWA had described the ship as Indian-flagged.
The only confirmed death was an Indian national. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said 19 of the 20 Indian seafarers aboard were rescued and one was killed. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India identified him as Suraj Yadav, a wiper from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. The union also said the ship was struck by two torpedoes, while British maritime authorities referred only to an unknown projectile.
The attack came weeks after two Filipino seafarers were killed when the Saudi-flagged crude tanker Sidr was hit by unidentified projectiles on August 31 while approaching the Strait of Hormuz. On September 8, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the DMW was investigating shipowners and Philippine manning agencies tied to five vessels with Filipino crews that were attacked or put in danger in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, to determine whether they violated rules on deploying seafarers to high-risk and war-like areas.
OWWA said its regional welfare offices will continue to assist the five in their home communities and link them to welfare and reintegration programs based on their needs and eligibility, in keeping with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to give Filipino workers abroad prompt and comprehensive support.
Their licensed manning agency is arranging medical examinations, temporary lodging, and onward travel for the crew members before they head back to their families.
