Filipino Seafarers from Germany Return to the Philippines

Filipino crewmembers of Sea Chefs and TUI Cruises prepare for boarding. (Berlin PE photo)

BERLIN 27 May 2020 – Over 300 Filipino crewmembers of Sea Chefs and TUI Cruises departed for the Philippines from Hamburg, Germany on 24 May 2020 via a chartered TUI Airlines flight.

The seafarers had been awaiting repatriation for the last two months after their usual cruise liner routes, mainly in the Caribbean region, were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Filipino crew, part of several thousand Sea Chefs and TUI Cruises employees of different nationalities, were assisted at the send-off by TUI Staff, Philippine Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega, and Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz.

Before boarding, Ambassador Dizon-De Vega expressed appreciation to the Filipino crew for their patience and understanding, “It has been a very difficult period for all of you and we look forward to the time when you can all come back to work in the cruise industry”. Ambassador Dizon-De Vega likewise thanked the companies for their coordination.

The Filipinos were reminded by Labor Attaché Cruz that they could apply for the government’s social amelioration program of AKAP at the different OWWA Regional Offices.

The Filipino crewmembers arrived in the Philippines on 25 May 2020.  END

Left photo: Crew members commence boarding the chartered flight. (Right photo) Philippine Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega confers with TUI representatives and Hamburg Airport Representatives on the procedure for check-in and boarding before the arrival of the passengers. (Berlin PE photo)

Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz (left), Filipino seafarer Mardi Gonzales (second from left), and Philippine Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega (third from left) discuss social amelioration benefits the seafarers could avail of upon returning. (Berlin PE photo)

For more information, visit  https://www.berlinpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.de or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGermany.