MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Baghdad has confirmed the rescue of the 12 Filipino crew members of the Safesea Vishnu, an oil tanker which was attacked off the coast of Iraq last March 11, 2026, allegedly by explosive-laden Iranian boats.
Iraqi authorities rescued the Filipino seafarers "in the early hours of March 12, and provided immediate medical care once ashore," the embassy said on Wednesday.
It was reported that explosive-laden Iranian boats attacked ships in Iraqi waters, including the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu.
The Filipinos were brought to the Basra governorate in Southern Iraq, it added. Medical and welfare assistance were also extended to the seafarers.
The embassy said it coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the shipping company to provide them with the documentary requirements necessary for their repatriation.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate General in Istanbul, in coordination with the embassies in Ankara and Baghdad, assisted in the repatriation of eight female Filipinos, who arrived in Istanbul on March 16 from Mardin, Türkiye.
This marked the third repatriation operation of the consulate since the start of the United States-Israel war on Iran.
The consulate said it has assisted a total of 31 Filipinos, majority of whom were female and included young children and elders. The Philippine Embassy in Tehran on March 14 assisted 16 Filipinos to exit Iran through Türkiye amid the ongoing security situation in Iran.
Earlier on Wednesday, 125 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)returned home via different flights as part of the government’s “intensified” repatriation efforts amid the Middle East crisis, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
While two of the flights were not disclosed, the OWWA made three posts on their Facebook page on some of the returning flights.
Late on Tuesday, Oman Airways Flight WY843 saw 20 OFWs from Oman and Israel arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
It was later followed by 23 OFWs and one dependent, who was on board Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 741 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Around midnight, 45 OFWs, along with their dependents, touched down at NAIA Terminal 3, after disembarking from Doha, Qatar through Qatar Airways Flight QR 928.
“Amid fear and uncertainty in a foreign country, the government’s swift action and cooperation became their support in ensuring their safe return home,” OWWA said in Filipino. WITH ARIC JOHN SY CUA