Returning Pinoy crew denies reports they lack seafarer's training
January 20, 2012 10:58 am
MANILA, Jan. 19 — Returning Filipino crew of the ill-fated Costa Concordia luxury cruise ship on Thursday vehemently denied they were not sufficiently trained in seamanship skills or lack of basic seafarers’ training.
The 100 Filipino survivors of the 296 crew members of the ill-fated ship, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 1 in two separate flights on Cathay Pacific CX-907 and Thai Airways TG-620, mostly carrying travel papers, said they never abandoned their duties and responsibilities during which the multi-storey liner started to sink.
“Hindi totoo na inabandona namin ang aming duties and responsibilities. Tinulungan namin ang mga pasahero sa abot n gaming makakaya. At hindi totoo na wala kaming training bilang crew sa barko. Hindi kami tatanggapin kung hindi kami nakapasa sa seaman’s training,” 34-year-old Ignacio Benigno stressed.
He said that they have training in basic safety procedures and can speak English to communicate with passengers during an emergency.
Benigno, a chef, is one of the crew who stayed behind with other Filipinos to get the passengers to safety.
Gilda Gido, a cabin stewardess of the ill-fated ship also disclosed her harrowing experience. “Natakot din ako, pero nagawa ko rin ang yung training na pinag-daanan ko na gawin ang standard procedure kapag may aberya.”
According to reports, the vast majority of the 1,023 crew were waiters, dancers and musicians which were there to man the bars, swimming pools, theaters and casino to serve the 3,200 passengers on board.
The Costa Concordia, which capsized off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, is owned by Costa Crociere, the Italian unit of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise ship operator.
Meanwhile, Marlon Roño, president of the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, the manning shipping agency of the 296 Filipinos, said that each crew will be receiving US$ 3,750, a compensation for loss of personal belongings.
Since most of the crew have only served three months of their eight-month deployment contract when the incident occurred, Roño said the remaining five months of their salary will be automatically given to them.
Roño disclosed the Filipino crew were also assured by the agency for the redeployment once there was a need of international ship’s crew.
He said there are 26,000 Filipino seafarers deployed by Magsaysay to 88 luxury cruise ships, and 370 cargo ships worldwide.
The Filipinos were met at the airport by representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs led by Usec. Enrico Foz, and staff of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration who coordinated with the manning agency to provide stress debriefing and counselling to the seafarers, if necessary.
Foz pointed out that Costa Crociere assured the embassy that it will give full compensation to the Filipino crew members, initially giving an advance of 500 euros to each of the crew. (PNA) DCT/rsv/BLV/mec
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