Pasay City, Philippines – The remaining three Filipino crew members aboard the MV Epaminondas received a huge welcome for their safe return home on Monday, July 6, 2026, at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, where their flight safely landed.
The seafarers were warmly greeted by their relatives, together with the representatives of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Manila International Airport Authority, and the officials for their licensed manning agency.
On April 22, it can be recalled that the MV Epaminondas had an incident regarding the ship being caught in the middle middle of conflict in Gulf nation while trying to exit the Persian Gulf at the Strait of Hormuz.
Filipino seafarers given financial and medical assistance from DMW and OWWA, including temporary hotel accommodation by their agency.
Additionally, the seafarers will also undergo further medical and psychosocial assessments in aid of what they experienced during the time spent on the said ship.
The crew members were the last Filipinos to be granted clearance by the Iranian military authorities to board off the ship, which they were temporarily replaced by crewmen from Russia, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine.
Moreover, aside from their recent return, seven of their co-sailors were also brought back safely on the 21st, 22nd, and 25th of June, in three separate batches.
This arrangement was possible with the coordination of the shipowner and their agency, together with DMW themselves. – Aliyah Mae Nono, EUROTV News