As Filipino fishermen remain missing, PH gov’t to sue HK vessel that rammed their boat

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is planning to sue the owner of the Hong Kong vessel which rammed a Filipino-owned fishing boat, whose 14 passengers remain missing until this day.

“We are filing a case, we are gathering evidence, we will include the sworn statements of fishermen [who tried to help them],” PCG Commandant Vice-Admiral George Ursabia Jr. told radio station DZBB in an exclusive interview today.

Read: 14 Filipino fishermen missing after boat collides with HK vessel in Occidental Mindoro

Usabia alleged that Vienna Wood, the Hong Kong-flagged ship, didn’t even bother to help the Filipino fishermen immediately after the incident, despite having the means to do so.

“Vienna Wood has two functioning radars, [which they could have used to search for the fishermen]. They didn’t even send a service or rescue boat. All big ships have those,” the PCG officer said.

The Filipinos’ boat, the MV Liberty 5, hit the Hong Kong cargo ship in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday off the coast of Occidental Mindoro. The foreign vessel’s crew sent a distress call after the incident occurred, which spurred the PCG to search for the missing men. The Filipinos’ boat was found shortly after the incident, but its passengers weren’t on board.

The PCG said it might need to ask for the help of neighboring countries to search for the missing fishermen, whom they believe could have been trapped under the remains of the sunken ship.

At present, Vienna Wood’s captain, Zhang Wei Wei, as well as his crew, are detained at the PCG station in Batangas City.

Meanwhile, fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for remaining silent about the collision, which they said was his way of downplaying the incident.

MV Liberty 5’s case brings to mind an incident in June 2019, when a Filipino fishing boat rammed against a Chinese-owned trawler off the coast of Palawan. The Chinese crew members abandoned the Filipino fishermen, but they were later rescued by Vietnamese seafarers who responded to their call for help. The incident led to widespread fury among Filipinos, many of whom labeled the Chinese nationals’ act as cowardly. However, Duterte, who maintains a cozy relationship with Beijing, dismissed the seriousness of the incident and said it was just a maritime accident.