Two survivors of the ill-fated MV Gulf Livestock 1 are expected to arrive home from Japan on Saturday, September 19, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that Chief Officer Eduardo Sareno and A/B Jay-nel Rosales, “are flying home via Philippine Airlines PR 427 from Narita Airport and arriving in Manila Saturday at 5 p.m.”
According to Labor Attache Elizabeth Marie Estrada, of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office(POLO) in Osaka, they constantly monitored the physical and mental well-being of the two survivors, calling them regularly to provide emotional support.
POLO likewise sent each of the two survivors luggage full of clothing and toiletries and USD 200 for their needs.
“Both are grateful and appreciative of the assistance provided by the department,” Estrada said.
Sareno was rescued by the Japan Coast Guard in the morning of September 3 while Rosales was rescued in the afternoon of September 6. Both were confined at the Kagoshima-ken Kenritsu Ooshima Hospital and were later transferred to the Hotel New Amami while waiting for their repatriation to the Philippines.
They were among the 43 crew members onboard the MV Gulf Livestock 1 that sank early this month after experiencing engine trouble amid a typhoon in the seas in Southern Japan.
It is a Panamanian-flag vessel owned by Gulf Navigation Holding based in the UAE. The cargo vessel had 39 Filipinos, 2 Australians, and 2 New Zealanders crew onboard.
The vessel, loaded with 5,867 cattle, left the Post of Napier in New Zealand on August 14 and was heading to the Port of Jingtan in Tangshan, China.
It was expected to reach Jingtan on September 3. The last communication received from the vessel was a distress call in the early morning of September 2 to the Japan Coast Guard stationed at the Amami Ooshima Island in Kagoshima prefecture.
The Japan Coast Guard continues with the search and rescue operations to find the other 40 missing crew and vessel, the department reported.