DMW confirms 9 Pinoy seafarers in Houthi hands

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday confirmed that nine Filipino seafarers who survived the sinking of the Liberia-flagged MV Eternity C in the Red Sea on 8 July are currently being held by Houthi forces.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said they had already established contact with the seafarers' families prior to the release of a video by the Houthi rebels that surfaced online on 29 July.

The identities of the nine have since been directly confirmed by their relatives.

“Today, we confirm, in coordination with the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] the nine are in the hands of the Houthi forces. We are continually in close coordination with the DFA and the families,” Cacdac said.

He added that there are three reported fatalities and one Filipino seafarer still missing, though these figures are still being verified.

The DMW also emphasized the difficulty in confirming the fatalities, citing that the ship had sunk and they still do not have the remains of the three reported.

On 29 July, a Houthi propaganda video surfaced on the internet showing 10 survivors of the Liberia-flagged MV Eternity C.

The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter) at 2:39 a.m. Philippine time, featured testimonies from several Filipino crew members.

The names used appeared as English translations in the video’s text and may not reflect the actual identities of the seafarers.

One seafarer identified as “Mark Jason,” the vessel’s third officer, said they were discharging cement in the United States when they were informed that their next destination would be Eilat, Israel.

He also recalled that during a crew change in Port Said, Egypt, a new captain came aboard and informed them that they would be loading fertilizer in Eilat, but said it was not yet final.

The voyage was confirmed after finishing discharging in Berbera, Somalia.

“The master called all the crew and then had a safety meeting: voyage is confirmed. During the meeting, the crew asked if there is any bonus [that] we will receive because we will travel to a high-risk area, but the master only promised that he will contact the company,” said Mark Jason.

Another Filipino crew member, “Rafael Gonzales,” added that the fertilizers loaded in Eilat were supposed to be discharged in China.

Mark Jason also said the ship’s captain did not inform the crew that someone had contacted the vessel asking it to stop its voyage.

“When I go back to the bridge, I saw [the] captain monitoring the radio, I saw him lowering the volume of the radio, I heard [the] Yemen Navy calling our ship, but the captain did not answer. Called many times, but [the] captain did not reply, he ignored the call of [the] Yemen Navy,” said Rafael.

The ship’s electrical engineer, “Aleksei Galaktonin,” said this may have been the reason their vessel was attacked.

Cacdac confirmed that the vessel’s captain is a Filipino national.

“We’re looking into the captain who’s Filipino, and we have obtained the statement of the captain and we are also looking into the decision points made by the captain,” he said.

Despite being held captive, the seafarers said they were being taken care of. Rafael recalled that the Yemen Navy rescued them while they were floating in the sea.

“Thank you very much for saving our lives, taking good care of us, giving us good shelter, providing us food, giving us what we need and keeping us safe,” he said.

The Filipino seafarers called on the shipowner and company to stop any transactions with Israel and avoid future voyages to Israel.

“Red Sea is safe, but if you have any transaction or trading to the Israel, you will get problems, what we experienced,” Mark Jason said.

MV Eternity C had 22 crew members on board, including 21 Filipinos. Eight seafarers were repatriated earlier this month.

The DMW declined to release the identities of the rescued crew, citing privacy reasons. Yet among the seafarers shown in the video is one from Marinduque, whose family member had previously been interviewed by DAILY TRIBUNE.