Manila: Seventeen Filipino seafarers, together with two other crewmembers, are safe after their vessel was allegedly attacked by Houthi rebels while sailing the Red Sea near Hodeidah, Yemen on Sunday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac assured the public in a news release on Tuesday that they are working on the safe repatriation of the Filipino seafarers. "The department remains in close coordination with relevant government agencies and with the LMA (licensed manning agency) to facilitate the safe and swift repatriation of the affected Filipino seafarers," he stated.

Cacdac mentioned that the LMA of the Filipino seafarers, Crewcare, Inc., reported that the crewmembers of the Liberian-flagged MV Magic Seas encountered an assault while sailing approximately 51 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah. The vessel was reportedly attacked by 'small boats with men armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.'

The LMA informed that the vessel's security team successfully repelled the attackers by returning fire, which allowed the crew to abandon ship and be rescued by the passing container ship Safeen Prism. In his report to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Cacdac confirmed that the Filipino seafarers, along with the ship's Romanian master and Vietnamese chief engineer, are currently safe and staying at a hotel in Djibouti in East Africa.

"The department remains in close coordination with relevant government agencies and with the LMA to facilitate the safe and swift repatriation of the affected Filipino seafarers," reiterated Cacdac. "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep the President informed of any significant developments as they arise." He also assured immediate assistance for the seafarers and their families.