THE Philippines government is now working with other countries to negotiate the release of 25 seafarers, 17 of them Filipinos, who were seized by Yemen's Houthis forces with the car carrier Galaxy Leader in November.
filipino seafaring community was again in the news with the deadly attack on a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, reports Singapore's Splash 247.
Manila has pledged to work harder to ensure the crew on a car carrier abducted nearly four months ago by the Houthis are freed.
Foreign undersecretary Eduardo De Vega voiced his frustration at how long it was taking to free the Galaxy Leader crew at a press briefing.
'I want to take the opportunity on this occasion to ensure the families that we haven't forgotten them. We have been doing everything that we can do although it's not just really a Philippine issue, it's a global issue,' he said.
The ship owned by Ray Car Carriers and operated by Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) was hijacked by the Houthis in waters near the Yemeni coastline and then taken to Salif port in Yemen with De Vega suggesting yesterday the health of the crew has deteoriated in the intervening 114 days.
A statement from the ship's owner yesterday called on the Houthis to show some compassion during Ramadan, which started this week.
'The Houthi authorities have expressed their intent to release the crew subject to the approval of Hamas. In line with the start of Ramadan and its focus on spiritual reflection and growth, together with forgiveness and acts of charity, the crew's families call on the Houthis to release the 25 innocent seafarers,' the ship's owner stated.
Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO), has made repeated calls for the crew to be freed.
'Seafarers are innocent victims, and their safety is paramount,' Mr Dominguez has said repeatedly during the ongoing breakdown in safety in Middle Eastern waters.
Last week two Filipinos and a Vietnamese were killed when the True Confidence, a bulk carrier, was struck by a Houthi missile, the first fatalities in the five-month long Red Sea shipping crisis.
Four others were wounded in the missile attack. Eleven of the victims' fellow seafarers have been repatriated back to the Philippines.
SeaNews Turkey
filipino seafaring community was again in the news with the deadly attack on a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, reports Singapore's Splash 247.
Manila has pledged to work harder to ensure the crew on a car carrier abducted nearly four months ago by the Houthis are freed.
Foreign undersecretary Eduardo De Vega voiced his frustration at how long it was taking to free the Galaxy Leader crew at a press briefing.
'I want to take the opportunity on this occasion to ensure the families that we haven't forgotten them. We have been doing everything that we can do although it's not just really a Philippine issue, it's a global issue,' he said.
The ship owned by Ray Car Carriers and operated by Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) was hijacked by the Houthis in waters near the Yemeni coastline and then taken to Salif port in Yemen with De Vega suggesting yesterday the health of the crew has deteoriated in the intervening 114 days.
A statement from the ship's owner yesterday called on the Houthis to show some compassion during Ramadan, which started this week.
'The Houthi authorities have expressed their intent to release the crew subject to the approval of Hamas. In line with the start of Ramadan and its focus on spiritual reflection and growth, together with forgiveness and acts of charity, the crew's families call on the Houthis to release the 25 innocent seafarers,' the ship's owner stated.
Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO), has made repeated calls for the crew to be freed.
'Seafarers are innocent victims, and their safety is paramount,' Mr Dominguez has said repeatedly during the ongoing breakdown in safety in Middle Eastern waters.
Last week two Filipinos and a Vietnamese were killed when the True Confidence, a bulk carrier, was struck by a Houthi missile, the first fatalities in the five-month long Red Sea shipping crisis.
Four others were wounded in the missile attack. Eleven of the victims' fellow seafarers have been repatriated back to the Philippines.
SeaNews Turkey
