Filipino seaman Francis is a 30-year veteran of the seas. He started as a mess man in 1996 and has worked his way up to his current rank of bosun, the most senior rate and leader of the deck department on a ship.
On Thursday, Francis informed his Russian captain he does not wish to remain on board if their tanker would sail through the Red Sea from Singapore to Rotterdam. It is the first time in his three decades as a mariner to refuse a certain route.
‘It’s different this time’
Francis is currently on board a Monrovia-registered tanker on its way to Singapore to load diesel before delivering their cargo to Europe’s busiest port.
“I’ve passed through the Red Sea countless of times already. But it is not just pirates that we have to be wary about nowadays. This time, ships are in danger from drones and missiles,” he revealed.
Francis said that online chats by mariners groups warn them of impending dangers in their intended routes. He pointed out that hostilities in the Middle East have resumed and belligerent groups in Yemen have threatened to target ships passing through the Red Sea in support of Iran’s constriction of the Strait of Hormuz as leverage.
The seaman said he would have shrugged off such dangers when he was younger with less onboard responsibilities. But he now has to consider the well-being of 22 other sailors under his supervision, 13 of whom are compatriots while the rest are South Asians and Eastern Europeans.
“It’s my job to point out they have the option to disembark if the dangers are real. So far, only six of us have indicated our desire to leave the ship if the company insists on the shorter but dangerous route,” Francis said. First time mariners indicated they want to complete their contracts despite the heightened dangers because they have loans to pay back home, he said.
“It is very hard to land a contract aboard a ship. Young Filipino sailors really have no choice but blindly follow their company’s decision, however dangerous sometimes,” Francis said.
Sailors must know rights
Lawyer Edwin dela Cruz, International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) president, in a forum said the Philippine government must conduct an aggressive information campaign among Filipino sailors on their rights as the Middle East crisis shows no sign of permanently stopping. He said that even before the US-Israel war against Iran, “seafarers were already beset with problems. The war had aggravated the dire circumstances of the seafarers and their families.”
Atty. dela Cruz said the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government of the Philippines has yet to provide government protection to Filipino seafarers affected by the war. There have been no shelters, comprehensive repatriation to stranded seafarers, nor financial assistance to offloaded sailors due to the war.
About 2,500 Filipino sailors on board many ships are currently unable to leave the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz due to renewed military tensions and retaliatory strikes. After the war started, Filipino crew members were involved in war-related incidents, including the seizure of the MSC Aries by Iranian authorities and drone strikes on vessels like the MV Kiku.
The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) meanwhile have only assured that stranded crews’ salaries continue to be remitted to their families in the Philippines.
Decision time in the next few days
Francis said their ship has just left Dhaka and are en route to a Singaporean refinery. Before arriving at Singapore, they will be informed whether their ship would sail through the Red Sea or would be allowed by the ship’s company to pass around South Africa instead.
“I only have a month left in my current contract. I am seriously considering offloading if our security concerns are not addressed,” he said. Contracted armed guards, usually effective against Somali pirates in the Red Sea, are no match to missiles, Francis pointed out.
He said he consulted his wife about their situation, who in turn told him he should come home. “If this would spell the end of my career, I think three decades at sea is long enough. My children are all grown up anyway,” Francis said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
