MANILA - The Department of Transportation on Sunday said it has made a deal with shipping firm 2GO to turn passenger vessels into quarantine ships for returning seafarers and other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

The DOTr said 2GO Shipping has agreed to convert 2 of their vessels into "quarantine ships" that can serve 1,500 patients and will be operational by next week.

The project will be implemented in coordination with the Department of Health and the Bureau of Quarantine, the DOTr said.

“We will deploy these ‘quarantine ships’ to help our hospitals, our health workers, and our countrymen. Malaking tulong ito sa mga kababayan natin,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement.

The capacity of each ship will be limited in order to observe proper physical distancing, and the ships will also be subjected to inspection by the DOH to ensure their compliance with other health requirements, the DOTr said.