15 Filipino Seafarers Return Home Amidst Black Sea Tensions

MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen Filipino seafarers affected by tensions in the Black Sea have safely returned to the Philippines, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said Sunday, July 26. Nine of the returning seafarers were crew members of MV Arosa, while six were from MT Gas Lisbon. They arrived in the Philippines on Saturday night, July 25. The seafarers were assisted by OWWA, the Department of Migrant Workers and their manning agencies upon arrival. They also received special financial assistance as part of airport support. OWWA said the seafarers were temporarily accommodated in a hotel while waiting for their medical checkups and travel arrangements to their home provinces. Black Sea risks. The repatriation came days after the DMW said two Filipino seafarers were killed and 12 others were injured following a series of drone attacks on vessels navigating the Black Sea. As of July 20, nine ships carrying 139 Filipino seafarers had been attacked by drone strikes while passing through ports in Ukraine and Russia, according to the DMW. The Black Sea, an inland waterway bordered by Ukraine and Russia to the north, has been designated a high-risk and war-like area by the International Bargaining Forum since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Philippine government has ordered a temporary deployment ban to the Black Sea following the attacks.