Iran Releases Filipino Crewmembers from Seized Boxship MSC Aries

Filipino officials confirmed on Saturday, August 3, that all the Filipino crewmembers who were working aboard the MSC Aries when the vessel was seized have now been released. Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac told reporters they had kept the details quiet until the seafarers returned to the Philippines while thanking the ship’s owner and the Government of Iran for their cooperation in the repatriation.

Iran had previously agreed to swap the seafarers at the end of their contracts with replacements to maintain the key functions of the vessel. The containership, which was seized by Iranian forces on April 13 while it was near the Strait of Hormuz, has been held in Iran for nearly four months. Reports indicated the crew consisted of Filipinos, Russians, Indians, Pakistanis, and one Estonian.

The first release which took place in May consisted of five Indian citizens, one Filipino, and one Estonian, who was the sole European Union citizen on board. The Portuguese government as the flag state of the vessel worked to gain the release of the crew.

Last week, Iran released the three remaining Filipinos from the MSC Aries crew. Cacdac said the three individuals had reached the Philippines on August 1.

News of the release came a day after the Philippines government renewed its calls for the release of the crew from the Galaxy Leader, a car carrier held in Yemen since November 2023. Iran unlike the Houthis that hold this crew has shown willingness to repatriate crewmembers from all the vessels it has seized. The Philippines government last week said crewmembers from the Galaxy Leader were showing symptoms of malaria and should be released by the Houthis on humanitarian grounds. 

Filipino officials emphasized that they were pleased to have the crewmembers from the MSC Aries home. They did not address if there are other Filipino crewmembers aboard any of the tankers also being held by Iran.

Iran, like its proxies the Houthis, has repeatedly associated MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company with Israel and said it is an Israeli company. This is despite the corporation being based in Switzerland and run by Italy’s Aponte family. 

The MSC Aries, flagged in Portugal, operates under a long-term charter to MSC but is owned by affiliates of Zodiac Maritime in which Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer is the lead investor. The vessel and its cargo remain under Iranian control with no talk of its potential release even before the current escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel.