47 Pinoy seafarers of stranded Norwegian cruise ship arrive in Manila

Some 47 Filipino seafarers of the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship were repatriated from the United States late Thursday evening.

After a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles, the seafarers safely arrived in Manila where they are expected to undergo mandatory quarantine as part of COVID-19 health measures before returning to their respective hometowns, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Their flight, done in coordination with the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and the local manning agency CF Sharp, is the last of the three scheduled repatriations Thursday that brought home a total of 789 overseas Filipino workers from the Americas and the Middle East.

Since February, the DFA has assisted in repatriating almost 10,000 OFWs from every corner of the globe.