Mother of missing seafarer seeks answers over son’s disappearance
MANILA, Philippines — The family of Filipino seafarer Christian Fabilane, who has been missing at sea since August 31, is seeking help to determine what happened to him.
Fabilane's mother, Agnes Dimailig, said the family wants clarity over her son's sudden disappearance and is questioning an alleged suicide note attributed to him.
In an interview with dzRH on Thursday, September 3, Dimailig said Fabilane was last seen entering his cabin at 9 p.m. on August 31 before his scheduled shift from midnight to 4 a.m. the following day.
He reportedly failed to appear for duty and was declared missing at 3 a.m., according to Dimailig.
Fabilane was aboard the Greek-flagged crude oil tanker MT Maran Morpheus.
Dimailig said the vessel had passed through the Black Sea before her son disappeared, an area that had initially raised concerns for the family.
"Marami po sa kasama niya ang bumaba at nag-refuse po na sumama sa paglalayag, pero siya po ay diretso. Pero ang pagkakaalam ko po 'yung barko ay nakalagpas na. Ang pinagtataka ko po biglang nawala ung anak ko nang hindi alam kung anong nangyari," Dimailig said.
("Many of his colleagues got off and refused to sail, but he continued. As far as I know, the ship had already passed through the area. What I cannot understand is how my son suddenly disappeared without us knowing what happened.")
Family disputes suicide suggestion
Fabilane's family has coordinated with Friendly Maritime, his manning agency, to seek more information about his disappearance.
Dimailig said the family does not believe the agency's suggestion that Fabilane may have died by suicide and questioned an alleged letter that she said was presented as a suicide note.
She alleged possible foul play, saying the handwriting on the note did not match her son's.
"Dito pa lang ho masasabi ko may foul play sa nangyari sa anak ko dahil hindi ho yan handwriting ng anak ko," Dimailig said.
("From this alone, I can say there may have been foul play in what happened to my son because that is not his handwriting.")
Friendly Maritime has been Fabilane's manning agency for eight years, Dimailig said.
Family seeks CCTV footage
The family is also demanding access to CCTV footage from the vessel, which they believe could help establish what happened before Fabilane disappeared.
Dimailig said the manning agency told the family that the vessel had no surveillance cameras.
She disputed this, saying Fabilane had previously sent his wife photos showing what appeared to be CCTV cameras aboard the ship.
"Sabi niya, 'may CCTV pala dito'. Naipadala niya ho iyon sa kanyang asawa," Dimailig said. ("He said, 'There are CCTV cameras here.' He was able to send those photos to his wife.")
Dimailig appealed to the government and senators to help investigate her son's disappearance.
"Kaya po nananawagan po ako sa mga senador tulungan niyo naman po kami. Napakabait ng anak ko para mawala na lang ng ganun-ganon na lang. Hindi po kami naniniwala na siya ay tumalon. Hindi po kami naniniwala na siya'y nagpakamatay," she said.
("I am appealing to our senators to please help us. My son is too kind to simply disappear like this. We do not believe that he jumped off the ship. We do not believe that he killed himself.")
Friendly Maritime has yet to issue a public statement on the matter.
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