2500 Filipino Seafarers Remain Stranded In The Persian Gulf As US-Iran War Continues

2,500 Filipino seafarers are still stranded in the Persian Gulf as the U.S and Iran exchanged strikes yet again, following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Filipinos are part of the 6,000 seafarers who have spent months on board ships trapped in the Gulf, after Iran closed the strategic waterway after the U.S and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic on February 28, 2026, starting the war in West Asia.

In the past few weeks, the U.N.’s agency for shipping, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), came up with a plan to help ships sail through the waterway when the Strait was opened temporarily.

However, after renewed hostilities, and U.S.-Iran differences of opinion over Hormuz management and control, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on the ships, leading to the deaths of seafarers, around 14 of whom have died due to attacks on ships in the region, while many sustained injuries.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is monitoring the situation in the Gulf.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that ship owners are sending provisions like food, water and fuel to their seafarers.

Their salaries are being remitted to their beneficiaries, and crew replacements for those with expired contracts are being done by manning agencies, he added.