20 January 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert has instructed the Philippine Ambassador in Stockholm, which has jurisdiction over Norway, to provide all necessary assistance to the Filipino crew of the ship MV Rocknes, which capsized in a fjord near the Norwegian port of Bergen.  The Secretary also confirmed that of the 30 crewmembers, 24 were Filipinos, three citizens of the Netherlands, two were Norwegians and one was German.

“We will exert every effort to help our Filipino seamen.  We are in close contact with Ambassador Vicky Bataclan who is based in Sweden but who has jurisdiction over Norway.  I have instructed her to deploy some of her staff to Norway to assist our Filipino crewmen,” the Secretary said.  The Philippines has
no embassy in Norway.

“I have also spoken to the Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Paul Moe, and he has assured me that the Norwegian government will exert every effort to rescue the crew and provide for their needs.  I also conveyed to him our appreciation for the valiant efforts that are currently being taken by the
Norwegian rescuers, who are working under very difficult conditions,” Secretary Albert said.

The Secretary said that a number of Filipinos had already been rescued. Although 16 crewmembers remain missing, she expressed hope that they would also be rescued.

“Several Filipinos have already been rescued. Just a few hours ago, three more Filipinos were rescued from the capsized freighter.  The three Filipino seamen were in an airpocket and managed to tap out morse code, leading the rescuers to their location who then cut holes in the hull of the vessel. Our seamen were then taken to a decompression chamber at a nearby navy headquarters. This gives us some hope that more of our countrymen will be rescued,” the Secretary said.

“We are in possession of the names of the Filipinos who were rescued as well as those still missing.  We are waiting for confirmation of the nationality and identity of the two known fatalities,” she said.

The Secretary declined to release the names of the Filipino crew saying that “we will release the names of the crew once we have completed contacting their next of kin and with their permission.”

“We are working closely with the manning agency of the crewmembers and will be providing all necessary assistance to the family members of our Filipino crew members,” the Secretary said.  She added that the Bergen-based ship owner, Jebsen Management, has an office in the Philippines and that it has set up a
center to help the families of the crew.

“While our primary concern at this moment is the safety of our Filipino crewmembers, we are also very interested in the cause of this accident and in measures that should be taken to prevent it in the future.  We will follow very closely the official inquiry into this matter.  We have to take every action to ensure the safety of all our Filipino seafarers,” the Secretary said. END.