Greek court orders auction of vessel to pay Filipino seamen's wages

MANILA, Philippines - A Greek court has ordered the auction of the MV Aetea Sierra to pay for the wages of its Filipino crew members, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the other day.

The court ruled that the vessel will be auctioned off, proceeds of which will be used to pay for the crew’s wages should the ship owner fail to pay them. Citing a report of the Philippine embassy in Athens, the DFA said the ship is set for auction on Feb. 17 to pay for the wages of the seafarers. The Filipino crew members are awaiting the arrival of their replacements so they can return to the Philippines and rejoin their families.

The Filipino seafarers scored a significant victory in their legal battle when the Greek court directed the owner of MV Aetea Sierra to pay higher salaries to its crew. The embassy said that the court issued an order on Dec. 21 for the Greek vessel owner to award the crew, including 12 Filipinos, the mandated Greek wage.

The award was calculated using Greek wage standard which is about four times more than what the seafarers would have received on wages stipulated in their contracts.

Their salaries would cover the period from July 9 to Nov. 9, while the residual claims shall follow to cover the period starting Nov. 10 until the date of the seafarers’ actual departure from Greece to the Philippines. Their wages will accrue until they are fully paid as they continue to stay in Greece.

The Filipino crew of MV Aetea Sierra sought the assistance of the embassy after negotiations with the Greek vessel owner for their unpaid salaries and damages failed. The seafarers also filed a case against the vessel owner. A Filipino ship engineer is represented by a Greek lawyer offered by the embassy while lawyers of the International Transport Federation (ITF) are assisting the rest of the Filipino crew.

The embassy is already making arrangements for the Filipino seafarers’ repatriation.

Philippine Ambassador to Greece Rigoberto Tiglao said that while they are awaiting their salaries, the embassy continues to extend assistance to these seafarers.