DMW: Shipowner didn't register Pinoy seafarer who went missing in Strait of Hormuz

The shipowner of a vessel hit by a missile in the Persian Gulf allegedly failed to register the Filipino seafarer who went missing during the attack, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency has launched an investigation into the shipowner following the incident near the Strait of Hormuz.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/dispatch/979449/filipino-seafarer-missing-after-tugboat-mission-in-strait-of-hormuz-dmw/story/

“Yung shipowner kasi ay hindi na-rehistro 'yung ating tripulante dito sa talaan natin. So that's one offense in itself,” Cacdac told Super Radyo dzBB in an interview.

(The shipowner didn't register our crew here on our records. So that's one offense in itself.)

The missing Filipino was the only Filipino crew member on board the tugboat that was struck by a missile, according to Cacdac. Other crew members were foreign nationals.

Search and rescue operations are still ongoing but authorities have yet to locate the Filipino seafarer.

“Merong mga nahanap doon sa tugboat na tinamaan ng missile pero hindi siya,” Cacdac said.

(There were people found on the tugboat that were hit by the missile, but not the Filipino seafarer.)

Following the attack, Cacdac said teams from the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) immediately visited the family’s home to extend support.

While the investigation into the shipowner is ongoing, Cacdac pointed out that the government’s immediate priority remains the ongoing search and rescue operations and providing assistance to the seafarer’s family.

In the past two days, a total of 110 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have already returned to the Philippines, according to Cacdac.

The Philippine government is preparing chartered flights for more than 300 Filipinos who would like to be repatriated amid the tension in the Middle East. —AOL, GMA Integrated News