Update on the 21 Stranded Filipino Seafarers in India

11 October 2018 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has been informed that a team from the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi was able to visit on Wednesday the 21 Filipino seafarers stranded in southern India.

In her report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Ambassador to India Ma. Teresita C. Daza said the Embassy team led by Vice Consul John Boitte Santos was able to board the MV Evangelia M and talk to the crew members led by Capt. Alexander Apao.

Ambassador Daza said the Embassy, assisted by the Philippine Consulate in Chennai, was also able to meet with the local agent of Admiral Shipping Agency as well as with officials of Kanikada Port to discuss the early resolution of the case.

The Filipino seafarers have been stranded in Kanikada since they were abandoned by the shipowner in June.

On Thursday, EVIC Human Resource Management Inc., the manning agency in the Philippines, informed Secretary Cayetano that it has provided more than P1 million in cash assistance to the families of the stranded seafarers. The agency said it has also booked airline tickets to Manila for the crew members and gave assurances that their salaries would be paid. END