Departure Concludes Concerted Effort of DFA, PH Consular Posts

Shanghai - The months-long wait at sea for all 29 fishermen of the vessels Han Rong 362, 366, and 369 concluded on 07 December, as the final departing batch of 10 fishermen flew out of Shanghai aboard two separate flights.

The Han Rong fishing fleet ceased operations in May 2021. Stringent COVID-19 restrictions at China’s ports, however, forced the vessels to remain offshore along coastal southeastern China, leaving the Filipino fishermen unable to disembark.

Related DFA Story: Filipino Fisherfolk Arrive Home After Months at Sea

Following intensive and protracted representations with Chinese central and local authorities, all 29 were eventually transferred and gathered onto one vessel, Han Rong 368, and finally allowed to go ashore and disembark at Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province in the mainland, in early November.

Throughout their quarantine, the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai was in contact with the fishermen, Zhejiang authorities as well as the shipowner and shipping agent to ascertain their condition, attend to their needs, and work out repatriation arrangements.

The fishermen’s return flights to the Philippines took place in batches over the first week of December, owing to the limited air services currently plying the China-Philippines route. Deputy Consul General Marlowe A. Miranda and Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Ella Cecilia P. Acena were present all throughout to send off and assist the fishermen during departure formalities and boarding at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The 29 fishermen’s disembarkation and eventual return was the outcome of a concerted effort guided by the DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) and involving Philippine consular officials based at the Embassy in Beijing and the Consulates General in the coastal cities of Shanghai, Xiamen and Guangzhou. END