POEA chief: 219 Pinoy seafarers aboard stricken Carnival ship in US all safe


The 219 Filipino seafarers serving aboard a stricken cruise ship that was adrift off Mexico's southern Yucatan Peninsula for five days are safe, a Philippine labor official said Sunday.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac said the 219 were brought to a hotel in Alabama, and may work aboard another Carnival ship or be repatriated.

"All 219 Filipino seafarers in 'Carnival Triumph' are safely billeted in an Alabama hotel. They may work on another Carnival ship or be repatriated," he said on his Twitter account.

He did not provide further details, however.

Last Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was checking if there were Filipinos among some 4,000 passengers aboard the cruise ship Carnival Triumph.

The Carnival Triumph arrived at the Port of Mobile via tugboat assistance Thursday evening (US time), following an engine room fire that occurred on Feb. 10.

Carnival, which operates the ill-fated ship, said on its website that the ship's guests disembarked and most were transferred via motor coach to either New Orleans or Galveston.

It also said every guest will receive a full refund of the cruise and transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the voyage, reimbursement of all shipboard purchases made during the voyage except for casino, gift shop and artwork purchases, and further compensation of $500.

The Carnival also said it has canceled 14 voyages of the Carnival Triumph through April 13, 2013.

It said guests on the affected sailings will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, as well as non-refundable transportation costs, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities, and government fees and taxes.

Meanwhile, Carnival said the investigation on the incident has begun, in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board and the Bahamas Maritime Authority.

"I want to again apologize to our guests and their friends and families. The situation on board was difficult and we are very sorry for what has happened. We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this case," said Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill. — BM, GMA News

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