Filipino Seafarers from Seized MSC Aries Return Home

The three remaining Filipino seafarers from the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, which was seized by Iranian authorities in April while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, have safely returned to the Philippines, according to an announcement by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) this past weekend.

The trio were part of a four-member Filipino crew aboard the vessel. One crew member had been released earlier in May due to health issues.

“We just didn’t announce it, but the three remaining Filipinos on the MSC Aries, which was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, have been quietly returned home,” stated DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Cacdac confirmed that the crew members arrived home last Thursday. “They just got back so we thank the DFA, the ship owner and, of course, for allowing them to get back — even the Iranian government helped,” he added.

The MSC Aries, with a crew of 25, was captured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on April 13, shortly after Tehran vowed retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. While Iran claimed in May that the crew had been released, the vessel remains under Iranian control. Iran had agreed to replace the seafarers at the end of their contracts to ensure the vessel’s key functions were maintained.

Iran’s foreign ministry previously stated that the Aries was seized for “violating maritime laws” and asserted it was linked to Israel.

The MSC Aries is leased by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

The incident prompted the global shipping industry to send an urgent joint letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, urging the UN to do more to protect maritime security and innocent seafarers. “Innocent seafarers have been killed, seafarers are being held hostage. This would be unacceptable on land, and it is unacceptable at sea,” the letter read.

The seizure also comes as the Iranian-backed Houthis continue to launch drone and missile attacks at merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.

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