Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said all 27 Filipino crewmen of the MV Transworld Navigator are safe following an attack by the Houthi terror group based in Yemen.

“It was an all-Filipino crew [on] the ship that was hit. They are out of the high-risk area. I can’t disclose where but they are safe now,” Cacdac said in a radio interview.

Foreign media outlets reported that an unidentified vessel that was docked at an Israeli port on Sunday, 23 June, was attacked by the rebel group.

The Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestine amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

Cacdac said the Transworld Navigator was attacked three times but the rebel group failed to immobilize the vessel and it continued on its journey.

The chief of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the seafarers may be repatriated after they reach a safe port.

“Most likely, when they arrive at a safe port, there is a high possibility of repatriation because they suffered an attack and must first come home to their families here,” he said.

Cacdac said the Transworld Navigator was the fourth vessel carrying Filipinos that was attacked by Houthis.

Last week, the MV Tutor sank after it was attacked by Houthis. The vessel carried 22 Filipino crewmen with 21 making it home to the Philippines and one going missing.

The DMW said it is reviewing its policies on the deployment of seafarers in “high risk” or “war-like” zones.

In April, the DMW began prohibiting the deployment of Filipino seafarers on vessels that would sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Filipino seamen were advised to exercise their “right to refuse” should their ship head for the dangerous areas.

The DMW said that since March, 78 seafarers had exercised this right.