Four Filipino seafarers repatriated from Iran arrive in Manila

Four Filipino seafarers safely arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Manila on July 29 after their repatriation from Iran, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

The seafarers, who were working in gas fields off the coast of Bushehr and Kish Island in Iran, were repatriated through the facilitation of the Philippine Embassy in Tehran.

The DFA said the distressed seafarers were employed by an Iranian company and faced danger to their physical safety due to the military conflict in Iran's southern coastal areas.

"The Embassy brought this matter to the attention of concerned Iranian authorities, and arranged for their repatriation in coordination with the Local Manning Agency (LMA), in accordance with the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) regulations of the DFA," the Foreign Affairs department said.

The seafarers disembarked on July 14 and were housed at a temporary shelter in Bushehr before traveling by land to Shiraz on July 27.

From Shiraz, the seafarers then boarded a flight for Tehran arranged by the Philippine Embassy and the LMA.

At the Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) in Tehran where they were to board a flight to Manila, the seafarers were met by embassy officials Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Jabbar Adiong and ATN Officer and Attaché Eunice Tabitha Trinidad-Tumampos, the DFA said.

Around 800 Filipinos are living in Iran as of March 2026, the DFA earlier said. —KG, GMA News