Gulf of Aden: Govt. to ban Filipino seafarers boarding ships attacked by Houthi rebels; incl. cos non-responses
We have received some reports that some of our seafarers were not really given an adequate amount of time to exercise the right to refuse sailing.Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac
In June 2024, the Department of Migrant Workers said “it will no longer allow” Filipino seafarers to board ships attacked by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, following discussions with maritime stakeholders on risk and security assessments and seafarer protection.
In particular, the Department of Migrant Workers says it will no longer allow boarding of seafarers Galaxy Leader, True Confidence, and Tutor. Galaxy is a Bahamas flagged carrier chartered by Nippon Yusen and owned by Galaxy Maritime, and Tutor is a Greek-owned carrier managed by Evalend Shipping, according to Reuters. An article by Djibouti Code of Conduct says True Confidence is a Barbados-flagged carrier operated by True January Maritime and owned by True Confidence Shipping.
The Department of Migrant Workers said shipowners need to give seafarers more time to exercise their right to refuse sailing when navigating through high-risk zones.
The complexity of the situation really calls for a proper security assessment with technical details inherent in the security assessments.Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac
In July, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Nippon Yusen, Evalend Shipping, and True January Maritime to respond to the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers (DMW)’s decision not to allow Filipino seafarers to board the ship they own or operate. Nippon Yusen, Evalend Shipping, and True January Maritime did not respond.
The Resource Centre was not able to contact True Confidence Shipping or Galaxy Maritime to invite a response; if a response is received in future this page will be updated accordingly.
In January 2025, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) reported that the Galaxy Leader Crew had been released after over one year in captivity. The ITF urges governments, industry, and the international community to "urgently take stronger, more decisive action" to protect seafarers.