The nine Filipino crew members of the ill-fated M/V Eternity C, which was attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea in July, are set to be released, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
In a statement, the DFA said it received information from the authorities of the Sultanate of Oman that the nine Filipino seafarers, held hostage by the Houthis in the Red Sea, will be released and will be transferred from Sana’a, Yemen to Muscat, Oman.
The DFA assured that the Philippine Embassy in Muscat and the Migrant Workers Office-Muscat will make arrangements for the safe and immediate return of the Filipinos to the Philippines.
The Philippine government also expressed its “sincerest appreciation” to the Sultanate of Oman.
“The release was the outcome of efforts of Oman, in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro personally discussed the plight of the Filipinos with her Omani counterpart, Foreign Minister Sayed Badr bin Hamad El-Busaidi, during a bilateral meeting in July, and again raised the matter during a phone call in November,” the DFA said.
The Greek-managed Eternity C, a Liberia-flagged bulker, was attacked in July by Yemen’s Houthis in the southern Red Sea. Houthis later published a six-minute video claiming to show the nighttime “rescue,” with scenes of men in life jackets being pulled from the water, treated for injuries and drinking water. The video released by Houthis was described by maritime security experts as a heavily scripted propaganda video.
At that time, the U.S. Embassy Yemen issued a statement mentioning that the Houthi group kidnapped many surviving crew members of the ship Eternity C in the Red Sea after attacking it.
“After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,” the US embassy said on July 9 on X.
It called for their “immediate and unconditional safe release.”
