Shipping agency in Subic fined after seaman violates quarantine protocol

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—A shipping agency here was fined by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) after one of its seamen violated protocols at a quarantine hotel here.

In a statement, Wilma Eisma, SBMA chair and administrator, on Thursday (March 4) said the highest penalty under the law would be imposed on Thyverse Marine and Shipping Agency for allegedly being negligent in keeping its seamen in control. The agency is an operator in the free port.

The amount of the fine, however, was not disclosed.

“We cannot tolerate any violation of health and safety protocols because our mandate is to ensure that all stakeholders in the Subic Bay Freeport adhere to the rules laid down by the IATF,” Eisma said, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are rules, which are for everyone’s safety, and we will see to it that they are obeyed,” she said.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Crew Change, which manages the government’s crew-change hub in the Subic Freeport, identified the violator as Zaw Oo, a crewman who disembarked in Subic from the cargo ship MV Voyager Elite.

Oo was quarantined at Horizon Hotel on Feb. 25 and violated quarantine rules by leaving his room several times.

Hotel staffers said the foreign seaman had also argued with hotel housekeepers and had been seen intoxicated.

Seamen are required to take coronavirus tests upon arrival in Subic before going on quarantine.

TSB