"Filipino seafarers barred from vessels passing through Red Sea, Gulf of Aden,"

Licensed manning agencies have been required to submit a written guarantee that passenger or cruise vessels with Filipino crew members will not traverse the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which have been designated as “war-like zones.”

Aside from the “affirmation letter,” the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Wednesday also required manning agencies to submit their vessels’ detailed itinerary during the processing of crew employment contracts or before deployment.

Migrant Workers officer in charge Hans Cacdac gave the order after the DMW and Philippine Maritime Industry Tripartite Council agreed during a meeting on March 19 on the “urgent need for stricter protocols” to ensure the safety of Filipino seafarers navigating the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. On March 6, a missile attack from Yemen’s Houthis on the bulk carrier MV True Confidence killed three crew members—two of them Filipinos—and seriously injured another two Filipinos...