Philippine Seafarers Keep Going to Sea Despite War Risks

Manila, Philippines – Monsoon rains may have shut schools and government offices in the Philippine capital last week, but shipping companies and job placement centers were still packed, with long queues snaking around street corners.

For them, rain is not a concern. What worries them is the journey ahead, taking them into increasingly dangerous waters – and they say they are fully aware of that.

Gerald, a veteran seafarer, is completing final paperwork to set sail next week. He will board the same cargo ship he served on before, at the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Last time, he was stranded there for two months when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February.

“A missile flew past. The navy intercepted it right above our heads, so we had to hide,” Gerald, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his job, recounted. “We knew debris could hit the ship. But what could we do? There is no safe place.”

He said in 15 years as a merchant mariner, he had never faced fear and uncertainty like this. When the US–Israel war with Iran spread, nearly closing the Strait of Hormuz, he and his colleagues were stuck for weeks, watching missiles from both sides explode mid-air. Debris mostly fell into the sea, but the firefight prevented supplies from reaching them. They had to risk fishing off the deck to survive.

But none of that has deterred him – even as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran fluctuates.

“I saved enough money to buy a house after just two years at sea,” he said. “I built a home for my parents.”

The sea has always been Gerald’s livelihood. He grew up in a fishing village. And though he says he never went hungry, sailing far has changed his life.

“This job pays well. It’s the only work I’ve known for a long time. I can’t suddenly switch to trading or farming. Easier said than done,” he shared.

“If I die, my family will be taken care of”

At the peak of the war in March, nearly 20,000 seafarers on 1,500 ships were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. At least 17 people have been killed in attacks since then.

The Philippines supplies more than a quarter of the world’s maritime workforce. Of the 6,000 seafarers currently stuck on that shipping route, about 2,500 are Filipinos, according to data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) released in July.

But even with the US and Iran reaching a temporary agreement in June to end the war, there has been no large-scale repatriation of Philippine seafarers. The Department of Migrant Workers said over 60 people have returned from the Gulf, but most Filipinos on ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz have remained aboard.

Alberto Lobaton is also preparing to return to sea and stays in the same apartment building near Manila Bay as Gerald. For years, this place has served as temporary housing for seafarers and is always full despite escalating maritime conflicts.

Beyond the Gulf conflict, attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea have increased as the Russia–Ukraine war intensifies. In July alone, 35 ships were hit, and more than 20 seafarers were killed, including at least three Filipinos.

Lobaton witnessed such an attack last year.

“I felt the ship shake from the explosion – it was that close. Only 300 meters away; I was in the lounge at the time, but those on night watch jumped up and ran,” Lobaton recalled.

The Philippine government has urged shipowners to avoid danger zones or allow Filipino seafarers to disembark. It has also reiterated that Filipino seafarers have the right to refuse to sail.

Lobaton admitted it would be a lie to say he is not worried about his safety, but the money is worth the risk.

“If I die, my family won’t worry because we’re insured. So if something happens to me, I hope it happens while I’m working at sea.”