MANILA, Philippines — About 1,000 Filipino seafarers aboard some 500 vessels run by shipowners from Southeast Asia, are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, said Mohamad Safwan bin Othman, chairman of the federation of shipowners in the region.
Othman, chairman of the Federation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Shipowners Associations, however, said that the numbers were "getting lesser."
During the peak period of the crisis, there were 2,000 plus ships stuck in strait. But it has gone down to 500, Othman said at the sidelines of the 10th Asean Media Forum.
Asked how many of the 2,000 seafarers were Filipinos, Othman said, "A big chunk of it. Our latest calculation about more than 50 percent are Filipinos."
"But again, we do not have the right data because some of the ships, they turn off their radar to make sure that they won't be detected by the [concerned] authorities," Othman said in a chance interview.
"Because some of them have a different negotiation with authorities. In shipping, you know, the ports that control is the authority that give the clearance, the port clearance," he said.
"So, in the Strait of Hormuz there are two countries currently managing the strait - Iran and Oman. But mainly Iran because of the oil, supply. And the oil tanks are all on the Iranian side," he added.
