FILIPINO seafarers on board ships passing though the Strait of Hormuz will no longer get any additional pay and benefits for passing high-risk zones.
This after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Monday issued Memorandum Circular 12, series of 2019 removing the area’s risk-zone status.
“Designation 5 of the Strait of Hormuz as an ‘IBF [International Bargaining Forum] Temporary Extended Risk Zone’ is hereby withdrawn effective 19 October 2019,” POEA said.
In its Governing Board Resolution 07, Series of 2018, POEA imposed premium pay for Filipino seafarers passing through such high-risk zones.
The benefits include bonus pay, doubled compensation for death and disability, and the right of workers to refuse sailing and be repatriated at company’s cost.
The POEA included the Strait of Hormuz on its list of high-risk zones in September 2019, upon consultations with the Maritime Industry Tripartite Council due to the identified risks there on September 24.
Earlier that month, 12 Filipino seafarers were detained by Iranian authorities for allegedly engaging in fuel smuggling.