Call to hike pay of Filipino seafarers sailing in dangerous waters

Manila: Foreign shipping firms sailing in pirate-intested waters are being urged to hike the pay for Filipino seafarers in lieu of the increased job hazards of bringing cargoes to dangerous areas.

Representative Emmeline Aglipay of the Democratic Independent Workers' Association (DIWA) party-list, said shipping firms plying declared high risk zones of the Gulf of Aden should pay their Filipino seafarers more for the additional risks braved by the sailors.

"Our government through Poea (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) should discuss the matter with the shipping companies who are employing Filipinos in these dangerous routes," Aglipay said.

International shipping companies and insurance firms charge huge premiums for bringing cargoes to hazardous areas in the Gulf of Aden---a corridor between Asia's Middle East and West Africa---that is infested by Somali pirates.

Given this, Aglipay said shipping companies should double the amount of compensation and benefits of Filipino seafarers in case of death, injury or illness while sailing within those areas.

Aglipay said she had authored of House Resolution 147, a measure urging the Poea to appeal the plight of the Filipino seafarers plying the Gulf of Aden route.

Incidents

Aglipay also urged her colleagues in the House of Resentatives to conduct an investigation on the recent deaths of Filipino crewmen whose ships fell victim to pirate attacks Gulf of Aden.

Aglipay cited the case of Christopher Cortez Cepado who was among the 17 Filipino crewmembers on the chemical tanker M/T Sea King that was attacked by heavily armed pirates on May 7, 2011 in Republic of Benin in West Africa.

In that particular incident, the pirates looted and ransacked the vessel's equipment and even took the personal effects of crewmembers while the ship was in the port of Cotonou in Benin.

The lawmaker noted that prior to the incident involving the M/T Sea King, the German owned M/V Beluga Nomination had been highjacked by Somali pirates 390 nautical miles north of Port Victoria in the Seychelles on January 22, 2011.

A Filipino crewman of the M/V Beluga, Farolito Vallega was shot and killed by the Somali pirates as two anti-piracy naval patrol vessels attempted a rescue mission on January 26, 2011. A another Filipino crewman remains missing after jumping overboard during the rescue operation.

The M/V Beluga was released three months after a $5 million ransom had been paid to the pirates.

 Figures

 Citing figures of the International Chamber of Commerce, Aglipay said there have already been 248 attacks with 28 vessels highjacked worldwide in 2011 alone.

She said that figures of the International Maritime Bureau, showed that there are currently over 700 hostages being held hostage in over 30 vessels.

Aside from calling for an increase in the pay for Filipino sailors in the Gulf of Aden route, Congress, she said, should likewise review the country's piracy laws for the protection of all Filipino seafarers, including those travelling in areas classified as non-high risk areas.

At least one in every four seafarers plying the international commercial route, is a Filipino.