All the Filipino crew members who were working on board the MSC Aries when the vessel was seized in Iran have been released, government officials confirmed at the weekend.
Philippines Department of Migrant Workers Secretary, Hans Cacdac, told local media that the government had not released the news of their release until the crew had been safely repatriated to the country.
Iran detained the crew when it seized the container ship and its cargo while it was travelling near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13. Reports indicated at the time that the crew comprised Filipinos, Russians, Indians, Pakistanis, and one Estonian.
Iran released the first group of crew members, including five Indians, one Filipino, and one Estonian in May. In July, Iran released the three remaining Filipinos who arrived home on August 1.
This comes after the Philippines government renewed its calls for the release of the crew from the Galaxy Leader, a car carrier that has been held in Yemen by the Houthis since November 2023. It said crew members had symptoms of malaria and they should be released on humanitarian grounds.
Iran and the Houthis have both associated the Mediterranean Shipping Company as being Israeli, although it is based in Switzerland and run by the Italian Aponte family.
The MSC Aries, which remains under Iranian control, is owned by affiliates of Zodiac Maritime in which Israeli shipping magnate, Eyal Ofer, is the lead investor. MSC operates the vessel under a long-term charter.
