Bulletin: On the Detained Seafarers in Libya

16 January 2019 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assures the relatives of the seven Filipino seafarers detained in Libya that it is exerting all efforts to bring them home. The assurance comes in the wake of the appeals of the families of the seafarers to President Rodrigo Duterte for help.

The Department is actively monitoring the case with no less than Foreign Affairs Secretary requesting the assistance of Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Lufti Al-Maghrabi in securing their release.

Secretary Locsin met with the Libyan official on the sides of the Global Compact for Migration meeting in Morocco last month. The Secretary reiterated his request to Libyan Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Ahmed Eddeb during a meeting at the Department last week.

The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli under Charge d’Affaires Mardomel Celo Melicor also recently visited the seven and has retained the services of a lawyer to represent them in court.

The seven were among several Filipino crewmembers of the Liberian-flagged MV Levant who were taken into custody by the Libyan Coast Guard in August on suspicion of fuel smuggling. The Embassy has been assured by Libyan authorities that the seven are in good condition. END