18 Pinoy seafarers onboard oil tanker seized by Iran safe, gov’t says

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 13) — The 18 Filipino seafarers onboard the oil tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman are safe and the Philippine government is working for their release, officials said on Saturday.

Citing Iranian authorities, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega in a statement said the seafarers are in “full health.”

“We are working with the Iranian government for their release. We are ever concerned about their safety and welfare," he said.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan also discussed the status of the seafarers during a news forum, saying that the Filipinos are in “good condition.”

Caunan added that the DMW has been in contact with the seafarers’ families.

Iran on Thursday seized the oil tanker St Nikolas as payback for the United States’ confiscation of that vessel and its oil last year.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said some “unauthorized” and armed people boarded the vessel and had diverted its course toward Iranian territorial waters.

Reports said the tanker — which was manned by 19 crew members, including 18 Filipinos and one Greek national — was en route to Turkey when the incident happened.

The US condemned the “unlawful” seizure, but Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations maintained in a statement to CNN that the act was a “lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order and corresponds to the theft of Iran’s very own oil."

In a related development, the government said the 17 Filipino seafarers taken hostage in the Red Sea in November 2023 also remain safe.

They were able to contact their families, and the Philippine honorary consul in Yemen was able to visit them aboard, according to De Vega.

“The DFA continues to engage in diplomatic representations with various countries in order to get them released. Their safety is our number one priority,” the DFA official said.

The 17 Filipino seafarers were among the 25 crew members held hostage when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen hijacked a cargo ship.