8 Filipino seafarers return home after drone attacks in Russia

Eight Filipino seafarers from the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier M/V Breadfan arrived in Manila on Sunday, 16 August, aboard Turkish Airlines flight TK084 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

The seafarers were repatriated after a drone struck their vessel while approaching the Port of Novorossiysk, Russia, on 7 August 2026.

They crew members were met at the airport by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers' Welfare Services Maria Regina Angela Galias and OIC-Assistant Secretary for Sea-based OFW Concerns Augusto San Diego III, along with representatives from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) received airport and financial assistance from the DMW and OWWA, while medical teams from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) conducted initial health checks.

Representatives from their deploying manning agency, Anglo-Eastern Crew Management Philippines, Inc., also met with the crew members to provide additional assistance.

The DMW and OWWA also ordered the manning agency to subject the seafarers to the necessary physical and psychological checks and debriefing sessions, and to provide all applicable benefits and compensation that they should receive due to their repatriation.

The DMW also reminded licensed manning agencies and their accredited principals to continuously monitor the status and condition of their deployed seafarers, follow the required safety precautions, and ensure compliance with established protocols for vessels with Filipino seafarers passing through the Black Sea. NEIL ALCOBER