MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed yesterday that M/V Tutor, the bulk carrier that was attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea last week, has sunk.
“This makes the search for a missing Filipino crewman more difficult,” Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said at a press briefing.
Cacdac said the missile-hit ship drifted and sank after it was last sighted on June 17.
“There was an oil slick that was spotted around the same projected location of the ship,” he said.
Earlier, the DMW said it would not declare dead the missing Filipino crew member.
Cacdac said they would continue to treat the unaccounted Filipino seafarer as missing.
“We have not found him so we could not confirm his death. He is still missing,” he said.
Cacdac said discussions on conflicting reports with the US government regarding the status of the missing Filipino seafarer are being handled by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The DMW is considering imposing penalties on ship owners whose vessels carrying Filipino crew members have been attacked in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The DMW has repeatedly asked ship owners to avoid traversing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which have been tagged as “high-risk areas and “war-like zones.”