DFA welcomes batch of 863 Pinoy seafarers repatriated from Florida

A total of 863 Filipino seafarers from Miami, Florida, arrived Saturday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a brief lull in repatriation efforts for the last three days, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

In media release, the DFA said the seafarers came aboard two Boeing-747 Wamos flights chartered by Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings, Miami, a month after the first Wamos repatriation flight from San Francisco, California.

"This morning's arrivals push the number of our repatriated seafarers above the 12,600 mark and we expect more arrivals in the coming days," said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola.

Photo courtesy: DFA

Five more flights are arriving from the US in the next two days, the DFA said.

Aside from repatriating COVID-19 affected Pinoy sailors, the DFA said it also coordinated the sending home of a total of 3,159 land-based workers.

In sum, the DFA has already assisted a total of 15,801 Pinoy workers abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic begun.

The new repatriates shall undergo a mandatory 14-day facility-based quarantine. Appropriate airport medical protocols and checks were also conducted on the seafarers who are crew members of the Norwegian Epic, Gem, Star, Dawn, Encore, and Oceania's Sirena and Marina. —LBG, GMA News