Pinoy seafarers rescued
Seventeen Filipino crew members of the Galaxy Leader remain captive but are ‘safe’
Central Park, a chemical tanker carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid, was involved in a suspected piracy incident while crossing international waters, says Zodiac Maritime. | FILE PHOTOGRAPH BY Peter Faas for Vesselfinder
Filipino seafarers were among the crew of an Israeli-linked tanker rescued by American and coalition forces after their vessel was seized off Yemen Sunday, US authorities confirmed yesterday.
"There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on 26 November," a US defense official told Agence France-Presse.
In Manila, Department of Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac told reporters the Philippine government was still verifying on Tuesday reports that Filipinos were among the Central Park's crew.
"Currently, we are still asking for official confirmation regarding this incident. Of course, there are initial reports coming in and there are social media posts as well," said Cacdac in an interview.
"That is why we are still gathering information and confirming this incident," he added.
Maritime security firm Ambrey said that "US naval forces are engaged in the situation" involving Central Park, which is owned and managed by a UK-based Israel-linked company.
Later, another US defense official told AFP that US and coalition forces responded to the emergency aboard the tanker and that "the crew of the M/V Central Park is currently safe." It was not immediately clear if the crew remained aboard the vessel or the ship's location.
Owner Zodiac Maritime said that among the 22 crew were Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals, as well as the Turkish captain, according to Ambrey.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels had earlier threatened to attack the tanker if it did not divert to the port of Hodeida, it said.
Drone attack
Communications from a US coalition warship had been intercepted telling Central Park to disregard the Houthi messages, Ambrey added.
The boarding took place offshore from the Yemeni port city of Aden, with another vessel in the area reporting "an approach by eight persons on two skiffs wearing military uniforms," Ambrey said.
The latest incident comes after a US defense official said an Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected Iranian drone attack in the Indian Ocean on Friday, a week after Houthis seized another Israel-linked cargo vessel in the southern Red Sea.