Ship owners forcing seafarers to sail ‘high-risk’ routes may face sanctions

Ship owners forcing seafarers to sail ‘high-risk’ routes may face sanctions

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) stands ready to sanction ship owners who would violate the right of Filipino seamen to sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid Houthi rebel attacks.

The department is monitoring its maritime electronic clearance system to ensure the compliance of ship owners on the right of seamen to refuse to board vessels passing through “high-risk” waterways, such as the seas near Yemen, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said in a congressional budget briefing.

The DMW also has the authority to block the exit clearance processing of any ship owners who would refuse to honor the right to refuse to sail through the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, he added.

“We stand ready to discipline any shop owner who would break the time-honored maritime right to refuse sailing [of Filipino seamen],” he told congressmen in mixed English and Filipino. “If ship owners would not respect [the tradition], there would be corresponding penalties.”

“Ship owners who will still onboard seafarers without electronic clearance amounts to a case of illegal recruitment,” he added.

Houthi rebels earlier this year attacked vessels with Filipino seafarers aboard passing near Yemeni waters. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio