Five Filipino seafarers are missing after abandoning their burning cargo vessel off Hawaii two weeks ago, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed.
According to DFA, the five were among 21 Filipino crew members of the MV Sincerity Ace who abandoned the Panamanian-flagged vessel after it caught fire on New Year’s Eve some 1,800 nautical miles northwest of Oahu.
Since the incident happened, the five seafarers have not been found.
The DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs has been informed by the ship’s manning agency that a tugboat and another vessel had been sent to the area to locate the five.
Meanwhile, the 16 other Filipino seafarers in the vessel were rescued by the United States Coast Guard and other passing merchant vessels. Most of them have since returned to the Philippines.
The Sincerity Ace was enroute to Hawaii from Japan carrying 3,500 brand new vehicles when the fire broke out, forcing the crew to abandon ship.
