FILIPINO seafarers onboard MT Sounion, a Greek-flagged oil tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude, were safe after the vessel was targeted in the Red Sea by Houthi missiles, said the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday.

The Houthi rebels launched the attack off the port of Hodeidah on Wednesday.

The attack on the Sounion caused a fire and cut engine power.

It was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is in support of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

Twenty-three Filipinos and two Russian crew members were rescued by the French Navy the following day.

Reports said the vessel was now anchored between Yemen and Eritrea.

The DMW, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were facilitating the seafarers' repatriation.

The government would provide reintegration support to the families of the seamen upon their return to the country.

The government on Friday urged Filipino mariners to "avoid" the Red Sea as Yemen-based Houthi rebels kept up their deadly missile and drone attacks on merchant shipping in the vital waterway.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has released an advisory on Red Sea hazards.

"This situation has worsened due in part to the conflict escalation in the Red Sea, which poses a clear and present danger to all Filipino seafarers working in the area," read an advisory issued on Friday.

"Philippine nationals should avoid the area altogether unless absolutely necessary for their livelihood," it added.

In response to the increasing danger in the area, the DMW has required manning agencies to submit a written guarantee that passenger or cruise vessels with Filipino crew members would not traverse such routes, which have been designated as "war-like zones."

The Philippines is a major supplier of mariners to the global shipping industry.

Manila said on Thursday that the Sounion was the ninth ship with Filipino crew members that has been attacked by the Houthis.

One Filipino remains missing from a Red Sea attack on the MV Tutor in June, while 17 Filipino crew of the Galaxy Leader have remained in Houthi captivity since the ship was seized last November.

WITH AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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