13 more Pinoy seafarers from Ukraine arrived —DFA

Thirteen Filipino seafarers from Ukraine have arrived in the Philippines, bringing the number of repatriated seafarers to 323 amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The DFA said 13 more seafarers of MV Ithaca Prospect arrived at the Clark International Airport on March 26.

Meanwhile, at least eight crewmen of MV Filia Glory, anchored in Olvia Port at the south of Mykolaev, disembarked in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on March 25.

They completed the repatriation of the whole crew with the other half arriving on March 22, the DFA said.

“The evacuation of the seafarers was a big challenge because of the need for them to disembark the ship through small boats that would bring them safely to shore,” Philippine Ambassador to Budapest Frank Cimafranca said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“We did this twice since the second batch of the crew was evacuated on a separate day,” he added.

The DFA said 30 crewmen were also evacuated and waiting for repatriation.

The department said the Philippine Honorary Consul and the Philippine Embassy in Budapest are conducting ongoing joint evacuation efforts amid the heightened tension between Russia and Ukraine.

Last March 7, the DFA raised Alert Level 4 in Ukraine due to the deteriorating security situation that threatens the safety of Filipinos there.—Richa Noriega/AOL, GMA News