Nine Filipino seafarers from an oil tanker seized by Iran’s Navy arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, March 10, while two more are expected to arrive within this week.
A map showing the region around the Gulf of Oman where the oil tanker St. Nikolas was seized by the Iranian Navy. (Kevin Trublet, Anibal Maiz Caceres / AFP)
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo De Vega said that the two other Filipinos will leave either by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Six other Filipinos remaining under Iran’s custody are awaiting replacements before returning to the Philippines.
"Hindi naman sila hostage per se, kasi kusang loob silang naiwan doon dahil binigyan ng double salary kaya out of their own free will sila na naiwan doon (They are not hostages per se, because they volunteered to be left there because of the double salary offer so out of their own free will, they willingly stayed there),” the official told ABS-CBN News.
Some 18 Filipino crew of St. Nikolas tanker were in the custody of Iran’s Navy after the tanker’s seizure in January of this year.
The seizure by Iran’s Navy was done in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the United States.
It was in accordance with a court order, state-run IRNA news agency added.
Earlier, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said that the DFA was negotiating for the release of the seafarers.