Strait of Hormuz listed as 'high-risk area' for Filipino seafarers — DMW

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced Saturday the inclusion of the Strait of Hormuz as a "high-risk area" for Filipino seafarers amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

According to a report by Carlo Mateo on Super Radyo dzBB, Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told a press conference that the agency's expanded advisory for the maritime sector now classifies the Strait of Hormuz as a "high-risk area."

With this, Filipino seafarers now have the right to refuse boarding a vessel that will set sail through the strait.

Should the ship to make a push for the area during a voyage, the Filipino workers are entitled to increased benefits and compensation, the report said.

Located between Iran and Oman, about a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz. 

It is considered the world's most vital oil export route, connecting the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The recent attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, which in turn has retaliated against the two countries and other allied Gulf states, has severely impeded shipping in the critical waterway.

The Joint Manning Group (JMG), an association of manning agencies in the Philippines, said Friday some 1,000 Filipino seafarers were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The Filipinos are said to be aboard nearly 200 ships.

The JMG assured that shipping companies and Philippine manning agencies were closely coordinating with shipowners regarding the situation.

As for the DMW, Olalia said the department was monitoring the stranded vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. — VDV, GMA Integrated News