THE Filipino seafarer who helped a distressed vessel in the Strait of Hormuz remains missing, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the Filipino seafarer is still unaccounted for.
"The search is still ongoing. There were people found on the tugboat that was hit by the missile but it was not him. So, the search continues," Cacdac said.
The department extended assistance to the family of the seafarer after the incident.
"Our team a few days ago had already visited the family's home and assured them of our full support during these difficult times while we await the results of the search and rescue at sea," Cacdac said.
The Filipino seafarer went missing after a tugboat assisting a distressed vessel faced an attack near the Strait of Hormuz.
In a related development, Cacdac said 38 Filipino crew members from two vessels attacked in the Persian Gulf are safe and traveling to a safe port.
"One has 21 Filipino crew members and are all safe. The other one has 17 Filipino crew members and are all safe. They are being transported to a safer port," Cacdac said.
Cacdac said more than 7,000 Filipino seafarers in the Middle East are safe.
"We have about 7,313 Filipino seafarers, who are marked 'safe' in our monitoring," Cacdac said.
The DMW chief said the agency continues to appeal to shipowners and manning agencies to ensure the safety of Filipino seafarers during the Middle East crisis.
The Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Strait of Hormuz are currently classified as "War-like Operations Areas," Cacdac said.
"We continue to call on ship owners and manning agencies to protect our seafarers, and honor their 'Right to Refuse Sailing'," Cacdac said. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
