Filipino seafarers now have the right to refuse to sail in the tension-filled Gulf of Aden after the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) expanded the list of its "high risk areas" (HRAs) to the said deepwater basin located near Yemen.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said the joint declaration issued last February 16 by the IBF -- the forum that brings together the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the international maritime employers that make up the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) -- "underscores the international maritime community’s continuing concern over the safety of seafarers aboard ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden."
"The expansion of the scope of high risk areas to include the Gulf of Aden serves as a necessary step towards providing stronger protection and promoting stricter security measures to safeguard Filipino seafarers and all seafarers working onboard ships navigating in such HRAs," Cacdac said on Friday, February 23.
Prior to this, the IBF has agreed to designate only the southern section of the Red Sea and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait as HRAs effective since December 22, 2023.
This was prompted by the crisis in the Red Sea, where the Houthi forces launched multiple maritime and aerial attacks against Israel. Houthi is allied with the Hamas, a militant group which launched a war against Israel last year.
Following continued attacks by the Houthi militants in Yemen against commercial vessels that threatened the safety of transiting seafarers, the IBF decided to expand the list of HRAs which now includes the entire southern section of the Red Sea and the entire Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, stretching across to the coast of Eritrea in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa.
Among those victimized by the Houthi forces were 17 Filipino seafarers who had been taken hostage onboard Israeli-linked ship "Galaxy Leader" in November 2023.
Cacdac said the designation of an HRA means that Filipino seafarers onboard ships that navigate in such waters will be entitled to a right to refuse sailing, with repatriation at the company’s cost and compensation equal to two month’s basic wage.
They are also entitled to a bonus equal to the basic wage, payable for five days minimum plus per day, if longer; double compensation in case of death and disability; and a mandatory requirement to increase security arrangements equivalent to International Ship and Port Facility Safety (ISPS) Level 3.
Cacdac reiterated the DMW's commitment to "ensure and advocate the protection and well-being of Filipino seafarers".
He urged employers of Filipino seafarers to comply strictly with the expanded HRAs designation and implement appropriate risk mitigation measures such as rerouting vessels and deploying armed security personnel onboard the vessel.
The DMW earlier called for and eventually supported the IBF’s designation of the Southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait as a high risk area in December last year.
The DMW also called for continued diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and to address the causes of the current conflict in the Middle East.