He posted about a bombed ship, then his was hit

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

“Sail in peace, sirs!”

Those were the last words Antiqueño seafarer Jude Prado Pagunsan posted on Facebook, one day before he was killed when the bulk carrier he served aboard was struck by a Russian drone in the Black Sea off Ukraine’s Odesa region.

Pagunsan, an able seaman from Sitio Wayang, Barangay Ubos, Valderrama, Antique, died when the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Venturo came under attack on the evening of July 17.

The strike disabled the vessel’s propulsion system and left the Supramax bulk carrier, rated at up to 57,000 deadweight tons, adrift in the Black Sea.

The attack formed part of an escalating campaign of Russian drone strikes against commercial vessels using the Black Sea shipping corridor amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Pagunsan posted his message on July 16 in reaction to reports of a drone attack on another commercial vessel in Ukraine.

Those reports said the Togolese-flagged cargo ship AIDA, owned by a Syrian company, had been struck by drones while lying at the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, formerly known as Yuzhny, killing its captain, chief officer, and chief engineer, and injuring five other crew members.

The three men killed aboard the AIDA were an Egyptian chief officer and two Syrian nationals who served as captain and chief engineer, according to Egyptian maritime officials.

A day later, Pagunsan became a casualty of a similar attack.

The MV Venturo was hit while sailing along Ukraine’s maritime corridor off the Odesa coastline, on a voyage from Varna, Bulgaria, to Sulina, Romania.

The explosion damaged the vessel’s superstructure and set its bridge on fire, leaving the ship adrift until rescue operations were launched.

Ukrainian Navy crews evacuated 17 Filipino seafarers from the vessel on the day of the attack, even as further Russian strikes continued in the area.

One more Filipino crew member, the ship’s electrician, was found on the night of July 18 to 19 aboard a drifting lifeboat and taken ashore by Ukrainian border guards.

Pagunsan was one of two Filipino seafarers reported killed in the recent series of attacks in the Black Sea.

The Department of Migrant Workers said on July 20 that 12 other Filipino seafarers had been injured, while one remained missing.

The Black Sea has been a high-risk maritime corridor since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with repeated attacks on ports and commercial shipping disrupting international trade and endangering civilian mariners.

The Department of Migrant Workers and the International Bargaining Forum have designated the northern Black Sea a warlike operations area, a classification that allows seafarers to refuse assignment there without penalty.

Family left grieving

Pagunsan is survived by his wife and children, who had been waiting for his return to the Philippines.

In a Facebook comment written in the local language, his wife, Glenn Ates, mourned that her husband had gone abroad only to provide for their family.

“You even shared that post, but it was your own ship that was later hit by bombs. It’s so heartbreaking. You were only working to provide for us. Why did this have to happen to you? We are still waiting for you to come home. Your children keep asking when their father will return,” she wrote.

His family has appealed to the Philippine government to help expedite the repatriation of his remains.

His sister-in-law, Nehj Tesa, also appealed to authorities to recover his body from the vessel and keep the family informed.

“We hope the government can help speed up the retrieval of his body from the ship if possible. We are waiting for information that will finally give our family peace of mind,” she said.

The family also urged the shipping company and concerned government agencies to provide a complete account of the circumstances surrounding Pagunsan’s death.

Antique Provincial Board Member Karmila Rose Milay-Dimamay, chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Labor and Employment, visited the Pagunsan family on July 21 to formally inform them of the tragedy.

She was accompanied by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration representative Jumerin Nicolas, who helped coordinate government assistance for the family.

The Department of Migrant Workers said the recent attacks in the Black Sea have affected nine commercial vessels carrying 139 Filipino seafarers.

Of that number, 124 Filipino crew members have been confirmed safe, while those injured are receiving medical treatment, psychosocial support, evacuation, and repatriation assistance.

The department said the vessels were attacked primarily by drones while transiting, berthed, or anchored in ports and nearby waters in southern Ukraine.

It has reiterated its advisory urging Filipino seafarers and licensed manning agencies to exercise heightened caution when accepting assignments involving high-risk conflict areas.

The department added that it continues to coordinate with shipowners, foreign principals, and Philippine embassies to ensure the safety and welfare of affected overseas Filipino workers.