July 8, 2024
MARINA to shipping firms: Avoid sailing through conflict zones
MANILA, Philippines — To prevent more Filipino seafarers from being endangered, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) will appeal to shipping firms to prevent their ships from sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The agency would “appeal to the international community in urging shipping lines to avoid passing through conflict zones such as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, following several attacks by Houthi rebels,” MARINA said in a statement Friday. According to MARINA administrator Sonia Malaluan, the agency has to “ensure we are not putting the lives of seafarers at risk” despite ships taking other routes that she said would be “costly to pass through another route that may take an additional 22 days to go around.”
