From 57 in April, only four vessels left in Manila Bay, bureau says
(Eagle News) — The Philippines has sent home almost 10,000 foreign seafarers who had been stranded in Philippine ports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, bureau Seaport Operations Chief Alnazib Decampong said as of August 19, 9,854 foreign seamen boarded flights towards their countries of destination after being processed and cleared.
Decampong said the foreigners were allowed to disembark from their ships after undergoing RT-PCR swab tests by Philippine Coast Guard personnel and after their results showed they were negative for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, since April 2020, he said more than 19,300 Filipino seamen have returned to their families after being stranded aboard the vessels anchored at the Manila Bay.
“Like their foreign counterparts, these Pinoy seamen were also swab tested and declared to be free of the virus before they were cleared by our inspectors and sent off to their respective hometowns in Metro Manila and elsewhere throughout the country,” he said.
According to Decampong, from the 57 cruise ships anchored at Manila Bay since April, only four vessels remain, “with only a few crewmen aboard who were left to maintain the ship before their outbound voyage.”