2 Pinoy seamen safe after foiled hijack try on commercial tanker

TWO Filipino seafarers aboard a tanker that an armed group tried to hijack in the Gulf of Aden Sunday are safe, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Migrant Workers said yesterday.

The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, was identified as the Central Park by the vessel’s company.

US defense officials said the Liberian-flagged tanker is owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime.

The commercial tanker made a distress call and a US Navy warship responded, US officials said but did not identify the attackers.

Last week, 17 Filipino seafarers were taken hostage, along with other foreign crewmen, after Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo vessel in a crucial Red Sea shipping route last week.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega declined to provide additional information on the two Filipino seamen aboard the Central Park but said “all are safe.”

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said, “We welcome a report from the US Naval Institute (USNI) that at least two Filipino seafarers on board a hijacking incident in the Gulf of Aden are now safe and accounted for.”

“US Naval Forces thwarted the hijacking attempt and rendered both the ship and crew safe and free,” it added.

The DMW said it has reached out to the family and relatives of the Filipino seafarers.

With two hijacking incidents in two weeks involving vessels with Filipino crew members, the DMW said it is considering “declaring certain areas in the Red Sea as high-risk zones for Filipino seafarers.”

The DMW was referring to last week’s hijacking of cargo vessel Galaxy Leader, wherein 17 Filipino seafarers are listed as crew members.

Sen. Imee Marcos asked the DFA and the DMW to come up with a “long-term strategy” to negotiate for the release of abducted Filipino seafarers as the Israeli-Hamas conflict expands beyond the Gaza Strip.

Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said Filipino seafarers could become “collateral damage” as they now face higher risks as Israel’s attacks in Gaza could draw in more militant groups seeking to avenge the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.

“There’s no end in sight to