Press Release
September 25, 2008

Jinggoy extols Pinoy seamen as "heroes of the seas"

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada extolled Filipino seafarers as "heroes of the seas," especially citing their reporting of vessels' dumping of toxic wastes into the water.

Estrada likewise lauded the United States government for commending and rewarding 12 RP seamen who helped prosecute the owners and operators of two ships that illegally dumped sludge oil and contaminated waste water into the ocean. The rewards ranged from $25,000 to $175,000 for each of the seamen, whose names were withheld for privacy reasons.

"Our seafarers, who have been renowned globally for their dedication to work and strict adherence to laws, continue to be a source of pride and inspiration for all Filipinos worldwide," said Estrada, concurrent chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, and of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment.

The US embassy in Manila said six of the seamen were crewmen of M/V Windsor Castle, a bulk carrier vessel owned by Italian shipping company B. Navi Ship Management Services. The other six seafarers were from the M/T Clipper Trojan, a carrier owned by Danish company Clipper Marine Services.

The Filipino seamen's testimonies resulted to B. Navi pleading guilty to breaking the anti-pollution law in 2007, and was consequently sentenced by the Texas federal court last February to pay $1.4 million in fines, and to Clipper Marine Services' likewise guilty plea to illegally discharging oil sludge in 2006, for which the New Jersey federal court sentenced it last June to pay a $4.75 million penalty.

Estrada earlier lauded third engineer Domingo Silva of the ship, MSC Trinidad, who also exposed the illegal dumping of an estimated 30 tons of waste in the Atlantic Ocean by the ship where he was working.

Silva took a video of the vessel's release of sludge - a mixture of ballast water and oil - through a bypass pipe from the ship directly into Canadian waters while the vessel was in transit between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and reported this to the International Transport Federation based in Montreal, Canada. Because of Silva's report, Canadian officials investigated MSC Trinidad's operator and owner, Mediterranean Shipping Co.

"The acts of Mr. Silva and the 12 other Filipino seamen rewarded by the US once again proved that Filipino mariners indeed have the global competitive advantage over other nationalities in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude, and especially, in their concern for the ocean. Our own government should likewise honor these heroes of the seas" Estrada said.

News Latest News Feed