HOME AT LAST: ITF Secures Freedom Of 13 Abandoned Filipino Seafarers Stuck In Singapore For  5 Months

13 Filipino seafarers have made it home after more than five months aboard an abandoned livestock carrier after the ship was arrested by the Singapore Sheriff.

The crew were able to finally get off the Yangtze Harmony and recover almost half a million dollars in owed wages, courtesy the relentless advocacy of the ITF’s Flags of Convenience Campaign Network Coordinator for Asia Pacific, Sandra Bernal.

“I am just thrilled that they are finally home,” says Bernal adding that “I was in daily contact with them, and at times I was really worried about the impact that the uncertainty was having on their mental health.”

“We have to remember that abandoned seafarers are not criminals – they are the victims in this situation.

“They are only there because their employer, the shipowner, let them down and did wrong by them. Crew should never be made to pay the price of their employer’s negligence – in money, time, or mental wellbeing,” says the coordinator.

Between the Yangtze Harmony and the crew abandoned aboard its sister ship, the ITF recovered a million dollars in wages for crew.