6,000 Pinoy Sailors Trapped in Hormuz Strait — 'We Chose to Go Home Alive'
More than 6,000 Filipino seafarers remain stranded in and around the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East war between the US and Iran turns one of the world's most critical shipping lanes into a danger zone. The Philippines, which supplies roughly a quarter of the world's sailors, is feeling the crisis up close and personal.
Filipino sailor George Miranda, 46, is the only Philippine seafarer officially listed as missing. He was aboard the tugboat Mussafah 2, racing to help a stricken vessel, when the small ship was struck by a pair of missiles. He last spoke to his wife and young daughter before the attack.
For those still waiting it out, life has become a cycle of fear and boredom. John Winston Isidro, 32, describes days aboard his Very Large Crude Carrier spent scrolling Facebook, playing computer games, and watching movies — while the crew stays off the upper deck and maintains double watch on the bridge. Another sailor, Welbin Maghanoy, had been stranded for nine days when he spoke to AFP, saying he's "bored and a little scared" as oil tankers like his continue to be targeted.
Judy Domingo, president of the 50,000-strong United Filipino Seafarers union, says she's fielded hundreds of calls from worried sailors running low on food supplies and desperate to leave their ships. But safe disembarkation isn't simple when you're stuck in the middle of a conflict zone.
One sailor posting online as "Choi" shared a powerful moment: their captain gathered the 27-member crew in the conference room to vote on whether to risk passage through the strait. The answer was nearly unanimous — they refused to sail. "We chose to go home alive," he said. The waiting game continues, and all they can do is pray the war ends soon.
Source: Philstar
