Chinese court OKS ₧25-M payment to stranded OFWS
ACHINESE maritime court has ordered the payment of over 3 million RMB (over P25 million) to 13 Filipino and two Greek seafarers who were stranded at sea in Guangzhou for almost a year after the owner of their ship got embroiled in a financial crisis at the start of global pandemic.
The Filipino sailors were crew members of the M/V Angelic Power, their local manning agency Magsaysay Maritime Corporation said in a statement.
“A remarkable legal victory for our Filipino seafarers after a challenging year for them and their families, amid the backdrop of the global Covid pandemic,” Magsaysay said.
The company did not say how much exactly the Filipino sailors would receive.
However, a report from Guangzhou-based news portal, GD Today, said the Guangzhou Maritime court has approved the claims of seafarers for unpaid salaries during the months that they were stranded at sea. The claim is worth over 3 million RMB (over P25 million).
The Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) ruling was handed down on June 25, in time for the International Day of Seafarers.
“GZMC gave priority to distribute unpaid wages for the crews of the vessel of Angelic Power. It is to help these seafarers to get the salaries they deserve, to guarantee their lives and the stability of families,” Wang Yufei, Vice President of the GZMC, told GD Today.
The Greek-flagged bulk carrier was initially detained by GZMC in Guishan Anchorage in July 2020 following the financial dispute between the receiver of the cargo, Guangzhou South China Coal Trade Center Co, and the ship’s owners, Angeliki Dynamic Investment Corp.
Syrianos, the Greek captain of Angelic Power, said on February 2021, the owner of the ship abandoned the ship, and all his crew on board suffered tremendously for it—without food, medicines, support, supplies. On top of that, they were not paid their wages.
GZMC said that during those times when the debt dispute was still being resolved, they provided help to Filipino and Greek crew by sending professional repairers to check the ship’s maintenance, offered oil, daily supplies and common medicines.
On July 2021, the crew was finally able to leave the ship and were repatriated.
The seafarers’ principal, Marine Partners Monaco (MPM) hired a Chinese lawyer to represent the crew members in the court.
In October 2021, the ship was auctioned off at 64 million RMB. The court ordered that priority be given to pay the unpaid salaries of the crew.
Magsaysay thanked the Departments of Foreign Affairs and of Labor and Employment; the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou for helping them negotiate for the release of the Filipino crew members and the settlement of their unpaid wages.