28 September 2020, Xiamen City. The Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, in coordination with relevant Fujian authorities, has successfully orchestrated the repatriation of 19 Filipinos, including the 16 stranded Filipino seafarers onboard Chinese fishing vessels Ocean Star 86 and Maria P today, 28 September 2020.

Eleven of the Filipino seafarers have been stranded in the Fujian waters since 24 March 2020 while five of them have been stranded since 08 July 2020 because of the travel restrictions imposed around the world, including the Philippines and China, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this period, the Consulate General provided the seafarers additional food and hygiene materials aside from what they regularly receive from their employers, monitored their physical and mental well-being, ensured that they are well-fed by their employers and being paid their salaries on time, and assured them of the Philippine government’s support, while it negotiated the immediate repatriation with the seafarers’ Chinese employers.

The repatriation was unusually delayed because of the new and stricter anti-pandemic protocols imposed by China to ensure that all departing and incoming passengers are properly monitored and checked free of Covid-19.

Aside from the repatriation, the Consulate General and the Department of Foreign Affairs also coordinated with the seafarers’ local manning agency (LMA) in the Philippines the quarantine facility that will house the seafarers upon arrival in Manila where they will undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

During their short face-to-face meeting, Vice Consul Laruan-Hernandez extended to the seafarers the Philippine government’s best wishes and assured them of the government’s continued support even beyond their repatriation to the Philippines.

For more information, visit www.dfa.gov.ph, www.facebook.com/dfaphl, and @dfaphl on Twitter. END