All 14 Filipino crew members of a Singapore-flagged container ship are safe following a collision with an oil tanker in Nigeria, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Sunday.
According to the agency, the MV Maersk Valparaiso collided with the oil tanker Lady Martina on Wednesday in the Onne Bonny River. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency activated emergency response procedures in coordination with local maritime authorities to assist the vessels.
The incident marks the second maritime collision involving vessels with Filipino crew members within a two-day span, officials said.
The DMW urged maritime stakeholders to prioritize voyage safety for vessels employing Filipino seafarers, noting that the agency continues to monitor shipping routes worldwide in real time.
Separately, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac met last Friday with Hans Docter, deputy secretary general of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the health and welfare of 38 Filipino crew members currently under quarantine in the Netherlands.
The crew members belong to the vessel MV Hondius. Cacdac expressed the Philippine government’s gratitude to Dutch authorities for providing medical screenings and testing upon the crew’s arrival.
All 38 seafarers tested negative for hantavirus.
Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya previously met the second batch of the Hondius crew when they arrived at Eindhoven Airport on 12 May.
Cacdac also met Saturday with officials from Oceanwide Expeditions and Wagenborg, the Dutch-based tour operators that manage the MV Hondius. The DMW said the Philippine and Netherlands governments are coordinating to arrange the safe repatriation of the crew members once their quarantine period ends.
