CEBU CITY – Some 20 Filipino seafarers (10 on-signers and 10 off-signers) of MV Equinox Orenda were among the first batch of seafarers to avail the services of Cebu's crew change hub Monday October 19 after its official activation/opening on October 16.
The Cebu crew change hub is also set to facilitate the arrival of 15 seafarers and embarkation of 21 seafarers Tuesday, October 20 for MV Federal Iris and MV Mackenzie, Cebu Port Authority general manager Leonilo Miole revealed.
Miole welcomed the seafarers and said, “In strict compliance with our port protocols and procedures for crew change, on-signing seafarers were required to undergo RT-PCR testing 72 hours before boarding,” Miole said.
After getting a negative result, they were
subjected to physical examination by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), as well as
Customs and Immigration procedures. Upon
obtaining the clearance, they were sent to the vessel for the handover of
duties from off signees, Miole added.
Miole went on that the off-signing seafarers were subjected to Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) procedures onboard vessel before they were sent to the port for disembarkation followed by the debriefing and RT-PCR testing in our one-stop shop (OSS) crew change facility.
All on-signers and off-signers were in full personal protective equipment (PPE) wearing face mask, face shield, gloves and hazmat suit and complied with the safety protocols put in place to avoid any possible transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during crew change operations, Miole bared.
According to Miole that after completing the
OSS procedures, seafarers immediately boarded their assigned vehicles bound to
their designated quarantine facility approved by the BOQ while waiting for
their swab test results.
CPA then immediately conducted disinfection activities in the OSS facility as part of the health and safety procedures within the Port of Cebu. (Photos: CPA)
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