DFA: 163 Filipino crew members of stranded cruise ship are safe

The cruise ship Viking Sky after it sent out a Mayday signal because of engine failure in windy conditions off the west coast of Norway, Saturday March 23, 2019. The Viking Sky is forced to evacuate its 1,300 passengers. (Photo by RUNE STOLTZ BERTINUSSEN / NTB scanpix via AP)

MANILA, Philippines — The 163 Filipino crew members of a cruise ship stranded off the coast of Norway are all safe and are helping in the evacuation of passengers, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

In a statement on Sunday, the DFA said that it is “closely monitoring” the ongoing rescue operations for the passengers of the cruise ship, Viking Sky, which was “stranded in rough seas off Norway.”

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“The Philippine Embassy in Oslo, which is in touch with Viking Cruises and the Norwegian Rescue Center, reported that the ship’s 163 Filipino crew members are all safe and are helping evacuate passengers,” the DFA added.

The DFA further said that there were no Filipino passengers on board the ship.

According to the Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Mariel Algabre, the Viking Cruises director of operations, Steward Coote, told her that “passengers have praised the efficiency and helpfulness of the ship’s Filipino crew in the evacuation.”

The DFA noted that tug boats are trying to inch the Viking Sky towards the shore with three of the cruise ship’s four engines working.

Local authorities, according to the DFA, said that the ship had restarted and was moving at a slow pace.

“The Viking Sky sent a distress signal Saturday after it encountered engine problems in bad weather,” it added. /atm

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