27 July 2015 - The Philippine Embassy in Athens reports that 20 out of the 24 Filipino crew members onboard MV Golden Arrow III, a Panamanian flagged-bulk carrier, will be repatriated to the Philippines after a couple of months of being stranded in Aleveri Port in Greece. They will disembark from Aliaga Port in Turkey, where the crew change is expected to happen in the next few days. Four Filipinos crew members will continue to serve at the same vessel.     

Based on the accounts of the crew members, the vessel was arrested in Greece due to unpaid wages and other financial obligations to its crew members and creditors. Prior to their arrival in Aleveri Port in Greece last April 05, the vessel was also stranded in Benghazi, Libya for three months.

According to the Philippine Embassy in Athens, the mentioned seafarers have finally received their unpaid salaries and other benefits from the ship management before the vessels departed from Greece with the help of a lawyer.     

The crew members expressed their gratitude to the Philippine Government for the invaluable assistance it has expected to them during this stay in Libya and in Greece. END