Two Injured Seafarers From CMA CGM Boxship Attack Return Home

When the boxship CMA CGM San Antonio was hit by an Iranian missile in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, eight crewmembers were injured and the vessel sustained significant damage. Two of the injured crewmembers have now returned to the Philippines, according to the country's overseas labor ministry.

On May 6, the boxship CMA CGM San Antonio was struck by a cruise missile as it passed eastbound through the contested waterway. CMA CGM told media that eight wounded personnel were evacuated for medical treatment - the largest number of seafarer injuries reported in a single incident since the start of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. After the attack, U.S. Central Command disavowed involvement in protecting the vessel under the aegis of its "Project Freedom" security umbrella; CMA CGM claims that it was fully enrolled and cooperating with all of the terms of the protection program. Project Freedom was suspended indefinitely shortly thereafter.

On May 15, two of the injured crewmembers were flown back to Manila International Airport and reunited with their families, according to the Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Omani authorities helped to coordinate their safe return.

Senior officials from the DMW and from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were on hand to greet them. Both agencies are providing the survivors with financial support, medical care and counseling to help them with their return home.

Photos from the airport show both men disembarking in wheelchairs; one of the victims had thick bandages on both of his hands - a sign of the significant risks that seafarers undertake when transiting the strait without first submitting to Iranian control.

Five more injured Filipino crewmembers from CMA CGM San Antonio remain overseas, and DMW said that it is looking forward to their safe return to their home country.