MANILA, Philippines, February 20 ------ A wooden Filipino fishing boat was allegedly rammed by an unidentified vessel in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea. Five of its fishermen were rescued by a passing Vietnamese ship 17 days after the incident. Three other fishermen are still missing.
Lt. Commander Michael John Encina, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deputy spokesperson and Bataan Station commander, said that the wooden fishing boat FBCA Prince Elmo 2 was reportedly rammed by an unknown ship at around 8 p.m. of Jan. 30. At around 3:15 p.m. of Feb. 16, the MV Dong An, a Vietnamese cargo vessel, was passing near the Spratly Islands and chanced upon five of the eight fishermen who were on the bow of Prince Elmo 2.
Atiko Trans Inc., the ship agent of Dong An, on Feb. 16 informed the PCG of the rescue and arranged a meet-up point. At around 6 a.m. of Feb. 19, the Coast Guard’s BRP Boracay, carrying medical and nursing personnel, proceeded to Mariveles, Bataan which was the agreed rendezvous point for the transfer of the five fishermen from the Dong An to the PCG ship. Encina said the five fishermen were immediately returned to Naic, Cavite and reunited with their families.
Based on initial information they gathered from the rescued fishermen, they left Naic last Jan. 17 and planned to engage in fishing activities in Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro until Jan. 30. But the strong winds caused by the amihan (northeast monsoon), which has been prevailing for weeks, reportedly dragged the Prince Elmo 2 to the WPS. In the evening of Jan. 30, they were hit by an unidentified ship. There was reportedly no light onboard the boat because they did not want to scare away the fishes.
Encina said it was not certain that the ramming incident was intentional because some vessels go on autopilot and might not have noticed the small boat, which was estimated to be only around three gross tons. “We have not yet had the opportunity to interview the fishermen because they floated at sea for half a month and this can be considered almost a miracle because they have survived. But while they are physically in good condition, they might have been traumatized by the experience and what happened to them they could not yet discuss in detail,” said Encina, adding they would also recommend that the five fishermen be checked for possible trauma.
Encina said they have already coordinated with the PCG Palawan Station to be on the lookout for the three missing fishermen and to send out a Notice to Mariners (NOTAM) to alert the other ships passing the area to extend assistance in case they see them. He has also coordinated with the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) to check if they have kept the files for Jan. 30, to shed light on what took place in the Spratlys and hopefully identify the other vessel involved in the incident.
Source: philstar.com
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