'Close encounter': 17 Filipino seafarers cheat death after Houthi attack in Red Sea

'Close encounter': 17 Filipino seafarers cheat death after Houthi attack in Red Sea
Martin Sadongdong Jul 8, 2025 https://mb.com.ph/2025/07/08/close-encounter-17-filipino-seafarers-cheat...

Seventeen Filipino seafarers narrowly escaped an armed attack allegedly perpetrated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels onboard a Liberian-flagged vessel while they were sailing in the Red Sea, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) revealed Tuesday, July 8.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac Jr. said cargo ship MV Magic Seas was sailing roughly 51 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen last July 6 when it came under assault from small boats with men armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

Fortunately, the ship’s security team, composed of four armed personnel, repelled the attack by returning fire.

The DMW said this led to the escape of the ship’s 19-member crew, including 17 Filipinos, the Romanian master of the ship, and Vietnamese chief engineer. They were forced to abandon the vessel as it was taking on water.

The crew were later rescued by a passing container ship identified as “Safeen Prism”.

Cacdac said the 17 Filipino seafarers were all accounted for and safely accommodated at a hotel in Djibouti in East Africa along with the two other ship crew.

“The Department remains in close coordination with relevant government agencies and with the LMA [licensed manning agency] to facilitate the safe and swift repatriation of the affected Filipino seafarers,” he said.

The migrant workers chief also assured the immediate families of the Filipino seafarers that they will be provided with assistance so they can rebuild their lives.

Houthi rebels are attacking ships in the Red Sea to support Palestine after Israel launched a war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.