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๐น๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ , ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐ท๐‘€๐‘Š ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐ท๐น๐ด ๐‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘ƒโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’-๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐น๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘–๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘†๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐ป๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘ง

MANILA โ€” As tensions in the Middle East raised risks for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, four Filipino ship masters kept their ships moving while shore-based teams and government agencies worked to support their crews and help secure their passage.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) cited the masters, their ship manager, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) during its Awards and Appreciation Night in Manila, 24 September 2026.

๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐ฑ๐œ๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‘๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ ๐ž:
Capt. Rogel P. Seradoy, Master of PRV MV Eva Fuji;โ€ฉ โ€ฉCapt. Christopher B. Bulandra, Master of PRV MV Lyng Trader;โ€ฉ โ€ฉCapt. Goldwyn S. Fuentes, Master of PRV MV Vivian Trader; andโ€ฉ โ€ฉCapt. Bienvenido E. Gasal Jr., Master of PRV MV Western Doncaster.
The masters were cited for safeguarding their vessels, ensuring safe passage and protecting the welfare and security of their crews as maritime and security conditions evolved in the region.

The ๐’๐ž๐š๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐’๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ข๐ž๐ฌ received the Award for Exemplary Ship Management and Support for maintaining continuous monitoring and providing shore-based assistance to the crews of the four vessels.

On the government side, the ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ (๐ƒ๐Œ๐–) and the ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐…๐จ๐ซ๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐š๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ (๐ƒ๐…๐€) received the Award for Outstanding Service to Filipino Seafarers.

DMW assisted Filipino seafarers aboard the four Philippine-registered vessels, while continuing to monitor Filipino seafarers aboard foreign-flagged ships and pursue their safe repatriation amid the hostilities in the Middle East.

The DFA, meanwhile, provided assistance to Filipino seafarers aboard Philippine-registered vessels and pursued diplomatic engagements with foreign missions, flag and coastal state authorities in efforts to secure safe transit corridors for Philippine-registered ships and their crews.

MARINA Deputy Administrator for Operations Retired Rear Admiral Loumer P. Bernabe said the awards could not fully measure the efforts of those involved.

โ€œWe acknowledge that these awards are not enough, but I hope they serve as a testament to your hard work and our relentless perseverance as we continue to navigate the unpredictable tides of the industry,โ€ Bernabe said.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical maritime passage, making preparedness, communication and coordination essential for ships and crews operating in the area.

View pictures here