Philippines says 21 of 22 Filipino crew on attacked ship in Red Sea rescued, safe

Manila, June 15 (IANS) Twenty-one of the 22 Filipino seafarers on board a commercial ship attacked in the Red Sea earlier this week have been rescued and safe, the Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers chief said on Saturday.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac told a forum that "combined international forces rescued and extracted the 21 Filipino seafarers from the ship," referring to the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier MV Tutor that was attacked on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ship "was immobilised but stable," Cacdac said, adding that the 21 Filipino crew "were boarded on security forces ship and taken safer port."

Cacdac said rescuers are still searching for the remaining missing seafarer inside the ship. "We were assured they would not stop locating our missing seafarer, who is just within the ship," he said.

"There will be a salvaging operation of the ship," he said. "Teams will go back to the ship to find the missing seafarer."

Filipinos continue to take the risk of joining ships passing the Red Sea despite the Philippine government's April ban on the deployment of Filipino seafarers on passenger and cruise ships transiting the waters due to geopolitical conflicts.

The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of maritime labour in the world, providing almost one-fifth of the 1.2 million seafarers worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization.