Six Filipino Sailors Return Home After Surviving Red Sea Attack

PARAÑAQUE CITY — Six Filipino crew members who were aboard the oil tanker M/T Wind, attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, safely returned home on Friday night, nearly two months after the incident.

According to Philippines News Agency, the sailors arrived via Philippine Airlines flight PR512 and landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal. The agency shared the news through a Facebook post on Saturday. The M/T Wind, under a Panamanian flag and operated by a Greek company, was carrying 23 Filipino crew members when it was struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile launched by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen shortly after midnight on May 18.

The vessel had departed from the Sheskharis terminal at Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where it loaded oil destined for China. The United States Central Command reported that following the attack, a coalition vessel responded to the distress call from M/T Wind, but the crew managed to restore propulsion and steering without external assistance, and no casualties were reported. The tanker was able to continue its journey to China under its own power.

Upon their arrival, the OWWA team at the airport welcomed the Filipino sailors, providing them with financial aid, food, transportation assistance, and hotel accommodations. This event is part of a series of attacks involving international vessels with Filipino crew members in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including incidents involving M/V Galaxy Leader, M/V True Confidence, M/V Tutor, and M/V Transworld Navigator.

Notably, the MV Tutor, also attacked in the Red Sea on June 12 with 22 Filipinos onboard, saw 21 crew members return home by June 17, with one still missing.