Seventeen Filipino seafarers aboard the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier M/V Minoan Dignity safely returned to Manila on August 21, 2026, arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 via Emirates flight EK334. Their repatriation followed an attack on the vessel while it was sailing southward and exiting the Strait of Hormuz on August 17. While the 17 Filipino crew members were safely brought home, one Filipino seafarer died in the incident.

OIC-Assistant Secretary for Sea-based OFW Concerns Augusto B. San Diego III, along with representatives from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Medical Team, welcomed the returning seafarers at the airport. Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s UPLIFT initiative, the seafarers received financial assistance from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) AKSYON Fund and OWWA. They also underwent initial health assessments, while their manning agency, Sea Gate Navigation Corporation, provided additional support.

The DMW and OWWA instructed the manning agency to ensure that the seafarers receive appropriate physical and psychological assessments, debriefing sessions when necessary, and all applicable benefits and compensation related to their repatriation. San Diego also expressed the government’s condolences to the family of the deceased seafarer and welcomed the safe return of the Filipino crew members.

The DMW reiterated its call for all licensed manning agencies and their accredited principals to closely monitor the condition, location, and safety of deployed Filipino seafarers. It also urged strict compliance with safety precautions and existing protocols for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to help protect Filipino maritime workers from similar incidents.