Norwegian shipping firm ordered to help families of kidnapped Filipinos seamen

Norwegian shipping firm ordered to help families of kidnapped Filipinos seamen
Roy Mabasa November 7, 2019 https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/11/07/norwegian-shipping-firm-ordered-to-hel...

A top official of the Norwegian shipping company that owns M/V Bonita has ordered his firm to “care for and comfort” the families of the nine Filipino seafarers who were abducted off the coast of Benin on Saturday.

This developed as the ship’s crewing agency in Manila gathered the families of all the victims to provide them with help and care in a “difficult time.”

“It`s imperative for Ugland to care for and comfort the families who experience times of uncertainty and concern,” J.J. Ugland President Øystein Beisland said in a statement posted on the firm’s official website on Wednesday.

The Norwegian company also confirmed in the statement that local authorities in Benin are already probing the kidnapping incident onboard M/V Bonita where most of the crew members are Filipinos.

“Benin police are investigating the incident onboard M/V Bonita on Saturday, November 2, 2019. Ugland fully cooperates and supports this investigation,” it added.

On Tuesday, the Norwegian shipping company announced that they will be sending a trauma specialist and a priest to board the ship “to care for the remaining crew onboard.”

Headquartered in Grimstad, Norway, the shipping company also assured that it is their priority to bring the nine abducted crewmembers to safety while they are working relentlessly on the incident.