21 Filipino seamen stranded in India set to return home

The 21 Filipino seamen stranded in India will soon return home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Thursday.

The seamen have been stranded at the Kakinada Port for more than three months after their Greek employers abandoned them.

READ: DFA orders immediate help for 21 Filipino seamen stranded in India

On Wednesday, Ma. Teresita Daza, Philippine Ambassador to India, reported to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano that a team from the embassy visited the Filipino seamen onboard MV Evangelia M with the crew members led by Captain Alexander Apao.

The EVIC Human Resource Management offered more than P1 million in financial aid to the families of the seamen. The agency also booked airline tickets to Manila for the seamen and assured them that they would receive their salaries.

Daza said the embassy, assisted by the Philippine Consulate in Chennai, India, also consulted the local agent of the Admiral Shipping Agency and officials of Kakinada Port “to discuss the early resolution of the case.” /ee