PCG on the track of oil tanker in boat ramming
While the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has yet to categorically say that it was a Marshall Islands-registered crude oil tanker that hit a Filipino fishing boat off Pangasinan early this month, it has started tracking its location in real time as the Senate investigation of the maritime accident continues. On Thursday, Vice Adm. Joseph Coyme, commander of the PCG’s maritime safety services command, told senators that MT Pacific Anna, a 110,000-ton, 250-meter tanker owned by shipping firm Sinokor, was the “highly probable vessel of interest” after its course was plotted to be the ship nearest to FB Dearyn at the time of the collision early morning on Oct. 2. The accident, which killed three Filipino fishermen, happened in the West Philippine Sea, about 190 nautical miles (about 350 kilometers) off Agno town in Pangasinan, the PCG said. Coyme said the PCG used cross-referencing of maritime traffic data and “sea vision” to single out Pacific Anna. “We have used this maritime traffic application that tracked the movement of vessels globally [through] historical data on the movement of vessels. As you can see, Pacific Anna really passed [by the] location of FB Dearyn … around 4:42 a.m.,” he said. For DFA action Citing maritime data, Coyme said MT Pacific Anna left Incheon in South Korea on Sept. 28 and arrived at the Port of Keppel in Singapore on Oct. 5. From there, it proceeded to Sungai Linggi port in Malaysia on Oct. 8 and was located at Kidurong port in Myanmar on Wednesday. It was last located at a Malaysian port. “What is important is that we are now able to track down the location of this vessel in real time,” Coyme said. He said investigators gave credence to the testimony of Johnny Manlolo, one of the survivors on FB Dearyn, that the vessel left scuff marks on their boat’s wooden hull of red paint—same as that of MT Pacific Anna. Coyme said the PCG has submitted its fact-finding report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for a possible diplomatic action to go after the owners of the vessel. Immediate relief But just as government agencies worked on the legal processes in exacting accountability for the collision, three senators appealed to the government and the foreign shipping firm to provide immediate relief to the families of the victims and survivors. Senators Francis Tolentino, Aquilino Pimentel III and Robinhood Padilla were dismayed
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