MAYNILA. Nawawala ang isang Filipino crew member ng MV Tutor matapos itong atakehin ng mga Houthi rebels ng Yemen habang naglalayag sa Southern Red Sea at Gulf of Aden noong Miyerkules, ayon sa Department of Migrant Workers nitong Biyernes.
Sa isang virtual press briefing, sinabi ni Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac na ang Greek-owned bulk carrier ay may 22 crew members, karamihan ay mga Pilipino, nang masira ang ilang delikadong bahagi at ang engine room ng barko dahil sa pag-atake.
“Right now, we are still in the process of trying to ascertain. We’re trying to account for the particular seafarer in the ship and are praying that we could find him,” ani Cacdac. “Rest assured that all of the next of kin of the seafarers have been contacted,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Cacdac, ligtas ang ibang seafarers na sakay ng barko at personal niyang nakita ito sa pamamagitan ng isang video call. “Everybody from the MV Tutor is safe and sound. I saw them personally on the video. Everybody is fine, at least from the video, and they are safe onboard the ship. And having said that, rescue must be undertaken,” paliwanag niya.
Dagdag pa ni Cacdac, nakipag-ugnayan na sila sa Department of Foreign Affairs, manning agency, at may-ari ng barko. “The rescue is forthcoming within the day. I cannot disclose any details with respect to the rescue for security reasons,” sabi niya.
Ang Gulf of Aden, kabilang ang Red Sea, ay kabilang sa pinalawak na high-risk area upang mabigyan ng mas magandang proteksyon ang mga seafarers, kabilang ang mga Pilipino, matapos ang ilang pag-atake ng mga Houthi rebels.
Noong unang bahagi ng taon, naglabas ang DMW ng advisory na nagkakategorya sa “warlike and high-risk areas” kung saan may karapatan ang mga Filipino seafarers na tumangging maglayag kasama ang repatriation at compensation.
Sa pinakahuling pag-atake, sinabi ni Cacdac na “have been informed that the seafarers did not exercise their right to refuse sailing and had consented to join the voyage.”
Carlo Juancho FuntanillaFrontend Developer, WordPress, Shopify
Contributing Editor
AMA ACLC San Pablo
