MANILA (August 5) — Two Filipino seafarers who suffered burn injuries when their ship was attacked in the Black Sea have returned home, bringing them back to their families as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to put civilian vessels and their crews at risk.
The two arrived in the Philippines Monday, Aug. 3, after surviving the July 20 attack on the MV Gas Lisbon, a Liberia-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that caught fire near Romania’s coastline.
Both Filipinos were injured in the attack.
Another Filipino crew member died three days later, on July 23.
The incident is among a series of attacks affecting commercial vessels operating near Ukrainian ports amid the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) met the two seafarers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, where they received airport assistance and special financial aid.
Representatives of their licensed manning agency were also at the airport to arrange temporary accommodation, medical assessment and other post-arrival assistance before the seafarers return to their families.
236 Filipino seafarers affected
The two workers are among hundreds of Filipinos whose livelihoods have put them dangerously close to a war zone.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac earlier reported that 236 Filipino seafarers aboard 17 commercial vessels had been affected by attacks near Ukrainian ports.
The toll includes three killed, 15 injured and one still missing, while 217 have been accounted for and are safe.
So far, 89 Filipino seafarers, including nine injured workers, have been repatriated to the Philippines.
Cacdac said the government’s repatriation efforts remain ongoing as authorities continue monitoring Filipino seafarers caught in the conflict.
For the two workers who arrived Monday, coming home means more than leaving a dangerous sea route behind.
It means beginning the long process of recovering from injuries — and finally getting back to the families who had been waiting for them.
But for dozens of Filipino seafarers still operating in and around the Black Sea, the danger has not ended.
For them, the next voyage remains a question not only of livelihood, but survival.
