Muscat – Nine Filipino and two Indian seafarers from the ill-fated M/V Eternity C, who were held by Houthis in the Red Sea, were released and transferred from Sanaa, Yemen, to Muscat, on Wednesday night.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines said that the release is the result of persistent diplomatic efforts by Oman, working in close cooperation with the DFA.

The DFA confirmed the news after receiving information from Omani authorities. The diplomatic push was spearheaded by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, who personally raised the plight of the Filipino crewmembers with her Omani counterpart, Foreign Minister H E Sayyid Badr al Busaidi, during a bilateral meeting in July and again in a phone call in November.

‘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 DFA statement read.

The DFA concluded its announcement by expressing the Philippines’ ‘sincerest appreciation to the Sultanate of Oman’ for its crucial role in facilitating the release of the hostages.

The 11 seafarers were crew members of the bulk carrier M/V Eternity C, which was attacked and subsequently sank in the Red Sea following a hostile incident.