The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday confirmed that nine Filipino seafarers took control of a fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean from its allegedly abusive Taiwanese ship captain on Sunday.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the seamen were steering the vessel back to its homeport in Port Louis, Mauritius.
“The Filipino seamen are in constant touch with the DFA,” Conejos said.
DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal said that a consular officer from the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which has jurisdiction over Mauritius, has been dispatched from the embassy to Port Louis to provide assistance to the Filipino sailors.
“The Mauritius Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured the Philippine government that the seamen will be safe and treated well while investigation into the case is undertaken,” Cristobal said.
Vice President Noli de Castro, also the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), instructed Conejos and the embassy to provide the necessary assistance to the nine Filipino seamen, amid concerns that they might get arrested.
The sailors took over their Taiwanese fishing vessel while sailing off Mauritius to protest the alleged maltreatment by their Taiwanese captain Jui-yin Huang. Kenyan officials, meanwhile, have described the captain as Chinese.
De Castro said Vice Consul Bernadette Mendoza of the Philippine Embassy in Kenya will meet the Filipino crew of the commandeered fishing vessel, UAICSIXA when they arrive in Mauritius. – With AP, AFP