Three Filipino fishermen were killed after a still unidentified foreign commercial vessel collided with their mother boat while it was anchored on a “payaw” (artificial reef) in the vicinity waters of Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea early Monday morning.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the captain of the Filipino fishing boat “Daeryn” was one of the three casualties, with 11 crew members managing to survive when the boat overturned in waters roughly 85 nautical miles distant from Bajo de Masinloc.
One of the survivors recounted that while they were moored near their “payaw,” eight of them engaged in fishing at different locations, while the remaining six, including the boat captain, stayed on board the mother boat.
Due to rough weather conditions and poor visibility, the crew aboard did not notice an unidentified vessel approaching, which ultimately caused a collision and led to the mother boat capsizing.
Based on the cross-referencing of marine traffic data conducted by the PCG using the information provided by the surviving fishermen, it appears that the vessel involved corresponds to the crude oil tanker named Pacific Anna, registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
“After cross-referencing the fishermen’s account, the date, and the time, we conducted a thorough check on marine traffic,” the PCG said. “It turns out that Pacific Anna, a crude oil tanker vessel, registered under the flag of Marshall Island aligns with the details provided by the fishermen.”
The PCG said it will contact the flag state of the vessel and the next port it will visit for the purpose of boarding by Port State Control Officers.
Initially, the survivors encountered difficulties in retrieving the bodies of the casualties because of the harsh weather conditions. They were only able to recover them from the boat’s pilot house around 8 a.m.
The PCG said they proceeded to the Coast Guard Sub-Station Infanta, using their eight small service boats to transport the three deceased fishermen, who were reportedly from Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales.
