seafarertimes.com ~ Maritime News for Filipino Seafarers

Japanese authorities find empty lifeboat in search for missing Gulf Livestock 1 crew
Jake Sturmer and Yumi Asada 7 Sept 2020 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/empty-lifeboat-found-in-search-fo...

Japanese authorities searching for 40 missing crew members from a live export ship believed to have sunk off the country's south-west have found an empty lifeboat.

However, the Coast Guard said it found no indication anyone had been on board.

No easy way home for seafarers delivering goods to Canadian ports during pandemic
Morgan Lowrie Sep. 6, 2020 https://www.sylvanlakenews.com/news/no-easy-way-home-for-seafarers-deliv...

Robberies on the rise in the Philippines
Sam Chambers September 7, 2020 https://splash247.com/robberies-on-the-rise-in-the-philippines/

With more ships calling the Philippines this year to carry out crew changes there has been a concurrent rise in robberies onboard ships.

The Singapore Navy’s Information Fusion Centre has highlighted a significant growth this year in what is describes as opportunistic robberies at the Philippine capital, Manila, as well as in Batangas to the south.

DFA confirms death of Filipino seafarer after cattle ship sank off Japan
Christia Marie Ramos - September 07, 2020 https://globalnation.inquirer.net/190734/one-filipino-seafarer-dead-afte...

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday confirmed one fatality among the 39 Filipino crew members of a Panamanian-flagged cattle ship that sank off Japan last week.

Hontiveros to gov’t: Ensure aid to kin of seafarers of Gulf Livestock 1
Hannah Torregoza September 7, 2020 https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/07/hontiveros-to-govt-ensure-aid-to-kin-of-sea...

Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged the government to ensure that assistance is readily available to the families of survivors and missing Filipino seafarers aboard the Gulf Livestock 1 that sank off the coast of Japan last Wednesday.

New Diamond VLCC blaze extinguished
Sam Chambers September 7, 2020 https://splash247.com/new-diamond-vlcc-blaze-extinguished/

The fire onboard New Shipping’s New Diamond VLCC off Sri Lanka’s eastern waters was finally extinguished, nearly 79 hours after the incident was reported, the Sri Lankan navy said on Sunday.

The ship was carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India and caught fire on Thursday when a boiler in the engine room exploded, killing one Filipino seafarer.

Bataan port starts as crew change hub
Ernie B. Esconde September 6, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/09/06/news/regions/bataan-port-starts-a...

Covid-19 restrictions threaten shipping lanes and crew
Jamie Smyth and Thomas Hale 6 Sept 2020 https://www.ft.com/content/916a8a0c-de71-4501-af2a-ff00733039fe

Global supply chains at risk as crews marooned at sea for up to 17 months

The closure of international borders, flight caps and quarantine procedures owing to Covid-19 pose a grave threat to global shipping supply chains and the welfare of seafarers, the head of Australia’s maritime safety authority has warned.

Eight crewmen rescued from sinking cargo ship near Bintulu
05 Sep 2020 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/09/05/eight-crewmen-rescued-...

SIBU (Bernama): Eight crew members of a cargo ship faced an anxious moment when the vessel almost sank due to a storm about 17 nautical miles from the Bintulu Port.

Search for missing Filipino seafarers temporarily suspended
Jerome Aning September 06, 2020 https://globalnation.inquirer.net/190699/search-for-missing-pinoys-suspe...

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese coast guard has temporarily suspended the search for more than 30 Filipino crew of the cargo ship that capsized in southwestern Japan on Wednesday as another typhoon barreled toward Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday.