seafarertimes.com ~ Maritime News for Filipino Seafarers

Distress signal: Stuck on a never-ending cargo voyage in a pandemic
Kate Whitehead 4 Mat 2020 https://www.inkstonenews.com/health/coronavirus-distress-signal-cargo-sh...

Forced to remain at sea to keep global trade flowing, thousands of seafarers are waiting for a chance to return home. But as stress and fatigue mount, who will let them disembark?

Thousands of seafarers are stranded aboard ships, with no end to their shift in sight
Helen Devereux May 5, 2020 https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-seafarers-are-stranded-aboard-s...

Indian seafarers fear job loss as government dithers on crew change in foreign waters
P Manoj Mumbai | May 04, 2020 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/indian-seafarers-...

Philippines, the manning capital of the world, bans all passenger flights
Sam Chambers May 4th, 2020 https://splash247.com/philippines-the-manning-capital-of-the-world-bans-...

The crewing industry has been thrown another curve ball over the weekend with the Philippines, the nation that provides more seafarers than anywhere else, banning all commercial flights in and out of the country as quarantine sites have become congested.

Filipino freighter suspect in hit and run
Mikhail Voytenko May 3, 2020 https://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/05/03/filipino-freighter-suspect-i...

Royal Caribbean falsely blames CDC for keeping crew trapped on its ships, agency says
Taylor Dolven May 01, 2020 https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article2424432...

Friday, cruise captains continued to mislead crew members stranded on cruise ships about their ability to go home.

'We are very afraid': stranded cruise ship's crew in limbo amid pandemic
Uki Goñi 3 May 2020

Tensions aboard the Greg Mortimer have reached breaking point over allegations ship’s operators and captain pressured doctor to downplay outbreak

After an ill-fated Antarctic expedition in which 60% of passengers and crew contracted coronavirus and spent a month stranded off the coast of South America, the successful repatriation of 132 tourists from a Australian cruise ship seemed like a rare happy ending.

Royal Caribbean executives agree to the CDC’s terms for disembarking crew stuck on ships
Taylor Dolven and David J. Neal May 03, 2020

Royal Caribbean Cruises crew members who have felt imprisoned on cruise ships during a standoff between the company and the CDC might soon be emancipated, according to letters sent to employees Sunday from the CEOs of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises obtained by the Miami Herald.

Generosity extends across the seas to needy seafarers visiting city’s port
Peter Bugden May 4, 2020 https://catholicleader.com.au/news/generosity-extends-across-the-seas-to...

BRISBANE’S Apostleship of the Sea is appealing for help to increase the number of care packs offered to needy seafarers visiting the city’s port during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DFA: Repatriation of distressed OFWs suspended
Bernadette Tamayo May 3, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/03/news/latest-stories/dfa-repatriat...

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) temporarily suspended the repatriation of distressed Filipinos overseas following the directive of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 restricting inbound and outbound flights.