MIGRANT Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac on Monday said that all 27 Filipino crew members of a bulk carrier that was reportedly attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea over the weekend were safe.
Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Cacdac said the attack failed to immobilize MV Transworld Navigator.
“Hindi siya tinamaan in a sense na na-immobilize siya,” Cacdac said. “Nakapaglayag pa siya at nailigtas ‘yung 27 crew on board.”
Cacdac also said the Filipino crew members will likely be repatriated once they reach a safe port.
“Nakaranas sila ng pag-atake, baka kailangan munang umuwi sila sa kani-kanilang pamilya,” he said.
The Yemeni Houthi group said on Saturday that its forces had attacked the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea and the Transworld Navigator ship in the Arabian Sea. The Iran-backed group did not say when the attacks took place.
A Houthi statement said the Transworld Navigator took a direct hit from a missile. The operation against the Eisenhower had achieved its objectives successfully, it said, without elaborating.
The DMW earlier directed licensed manning agencies and their accredited principals or employers to consider avoiding the passage through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and nearby territories.
