DFA urged to 'pressure' Gulf Livestock 1 owner to expedite recovery of missing Pinoy crew members

Senator Risa Hontiveros has urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to "pressure" the owners of the cattle ship that sank off Japan in September to "swiftly facilitate" the search for the 36 Filipino crew members still missing.

Hontiveros conveyed his request through a November 3, 2020 letter addressed to DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.

In her letter, Hontiveros said families of the missing crew members of Gulf Livestock 1 are appealing for salvage operations to recover any remains that may still be within the wreck of the ill-fated ship.

"I would like to respectfully convey their request that the owner of the vessel – Gulf Navigation Holding – be pressured to expedite marine salvage operations for the purpose of recovering any remains that may still be within the wreck of the ship,” Hontiveros said.

According to Hontiveros, Gulf Livestock 1," a Panamanian-registered vessel, had a "noticeable checkered past.

"Gulf Livestock 1 had a noticeable checkered past, with European shipping database Equasis listing 25 port state control deficiencies in 2019 and 2020 alone, including a number related to the main engine," she said.

The ship, carrying 6,000 cattle, sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima Island in southwestern Japan on September 2 due to Typhoon Maysak. The vessel, which had experienced engine problems before, had been traveling from Napier in New Zealand to the Chinese port of Tangshan.

Hontiveros stressed that it is only appropriate for Gulf Navigation Holding to be made primarily liable for the expenses of carrying out retrieval operations.

“Kailangang panagutin ang Gulf Navigation Holding sa nangyaring paglubog ng barko nila. May mga naging problema na pala, pinabyahe pa,” she said.

Hontiveros emphasized the salvage operations will bring peace of mind, as well as closure, to the families of Filipino seafarers who are still missing.  —KBK, GMA News