RAMMING INCIDENT. The body of one of the three Filipino fishermen who died in a ramming incident off the Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea is transported to Barangay Cato, Infanta, Pangasinan on Tuesday (Oct. 3, 2023). The Philippine Coast Guard reported that a foreign vessel rammed into a Filipino fishing boat off the Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales on Oct. 2. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard)
MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday identified a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker as the suspect in the collision at Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales that resulted in the deaths of three Filipino fishermen.
In a situation update, the PCG said the tanker, Pacific Anna, was identified based on its data on marine traffic and cross-referenced with accounts from the surviving crew of FFB Dearyn.
“The PCG will reach out to the flag of the vessel and the next port to be visited by the said vessel to be boarded by the port state control officers,” it said.
The incident, it said, occurred around 4:20 a.m. on Monday when FFB Dearyn was moored at its payaw, a kind of bamboo raft used in fishing, located around 85 nautical miles northwest of Bajo de Masinloc.
Based on the statements from the survivors, eight of the fishing boat’s 14 crew were fishing at different locations while six crew members, including the boat captain, remained on the mother boat.
“Due to the adverse weather conditions causing darkness, the crew on board the mother boat failed to detect an unidentified vessel approaching, resulting in a collision that caused the mother boat to capsize,” it said.
At 8 a.m., the eight other crew members returned to the location of their mother boat, found the three survivors, and collected the bodies of the three fatalities.
“They subsequently proceeded to Coast Guard Sub-station Infanta, transporting the three cadavers, using their eight small service boats,” it said.
The deceased crew members were identified as boat captain Dexter Laundensia, 47; Romeo Mejico,38; and Benedick Uladandria, 62; all from Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales.
Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. vowed to provide assistance to the crew members of the fishing vessel and the families of the victims.
Marcos asked the public to refrain from speculation while the PCG completes its investigation into the incident. (PNA)
