MANILA — The final three Filipino crew members held aboard the Iran-seized container ship MV Epaminondas arrived home Monday, completing the repatriation of all 10 Filipino nationals who were caught up in a security incident in the Strait of Hormuz nearly three months ago.
The three seafarers landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 3 in Pasay City aboard a Qatar Airways flight, the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers announced on social media.
The men were the last Filipino crew members to receive clearance from Iranian military authorities to depart the Liberia-flagged vessel, the department said. Replacement crew members from Russia, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine have since taken over operations aboard the ship.
They were met at the airport by family members, as well as officials from the Department of Migrant Workers, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Manila International Airport Authority, and representatives from their licensed manning agency.
“Their safe return was made possible through the close coordination of the shipowner, the agency, and the DMW,” the department said in a statement.
The three received financial and medical assistance from the department and the welfare administration upon arrival, while their manning agency arranged temporary hotel accommodations. Authorities said the sailors would undergo further medical and psychosocial evaluations to support their recovery and reintegration.
The MV Epaminondas was seized on April 22 while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz out of the Persian Gulf. The first seven Filipino crew members had already been repatriated in three separate batches in June.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most strategically critical maritime chokepoints, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes. Iran has periodically seized or harassed commercial vessels in the strait amid heightened regional tensions.
