1.4K seafarers repatriated on Good Friday: DFA

FILE: Our returning OFWs continue to come in droves as DFA welcomes home 265 Filipino seafarers from the US, the UK and Germany: 126 from Norwegian Jewel, 33 from MV Viking Star, 96 from four Carnival cruise ships and 10 from MS Albatros. (Photo: DFAPHL/Twitter)

MANILA – More than 1,000 seafarers in six batches returned to the Philippines on Good Friday amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported.

On the morning of the same day, 440 seafarers of the Norwegian Pearl, Sky, and Sun cruise ships arrived, followed by 450 crew members of the Carnival Fantasy, Freedom, Glory, Legend, and Valor from the United States.

The third batch to arrive consisted of 275 crewmen of MV Oceana and MV Aurora from London while the fourth was composed of 265 seafarers from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the US.

The fifth and last batch to arrive was a group of 16 seafarers from Lisbon, Portugal.

All seafarers underwent the appropriate medical protocols as required by the Department of Health and Bureau of Quarantine and will undergo the necessary quarantine as part of the country’s Covid-19 health measures before returning to their respective hometowns.