Rescued Pinoy seafarer from capsized cattle ship already lost hope, partner says

The Filipino crewman of a capsized cattle ship rescued from the sea by the Japanese Coast Guard on Friday already lost hopes he would be found, his partner said.

“Sabi niya sa akin na sumuko na raw siya. Three days nawalan na raw siya ng pag-asa dahil baka raw hindi na siya matatagpuan,” Gina Baulita, common-law wife of Jay-Nel Rosales, said in an interview with GMA Regional TV, according to a report on Unang Balita on GMA News on Tuesday.

"Maraming salamat sa rescuer at sa Panginoon na nakita talaga siya," she added.

Baulita said Rosales, a Cebuano, told her how he was able to survive.

“Kasama niya ang Australyano, 3rd mate raw, tapes na-wash out daw siya. Hindi na niya nakita ang kanyang kasama. Matagal daw siyang nakalitaw sa tubig. Mga ilang minutes paglitaw niya, nakakita siya ng baka. Kumapit siya sa baka. Tapos nakakita siya ng life raft, lumangoy kaagad siya papunta doon," Baulita said in Cebuano.

The cattle ship Gulf Livestock 1 was on its way to China from New Zealand last week when it was caught in stormy waters in the East China Sea.

The ship, with a crew of 43 (39 of whom are Filipinos) and cargo of nearly 6,000 cows, sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday as Typhoon Maysak lashed the area with strong winds and heavy seas. It later went missing.

Filipino Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-year-old Cebuano chief officer, was rescued on Wednesday night, Japan's coast guard said. He was found floating in the darkness with a life vest on.

A second crewman was found unconscious and pulled out from the sea on Friday, but he later died. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday he was also a Filipino.

The DFA said the Japanese Coast Guard found a third crewman on a life boat on Friday. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III identified him as Rosales.

The Japanese Coast Guard will resume the full sea and aerial search on Tuesday.

The families of two seafarers, Leonido Torrija Jr. and Julius Sarote, are hoping they would be found. The two missing seamen are from Oton, Iloilo.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration-Region VI said 12 of the still missing seafarers are from Western Visayas. 

One is from Bacolod City, two from Iloilo City, and nine from Iloilo province. —KG, GMA News