Death toll in ship collision near Corregidor now 3

MANILA, Philippines — The death toll in the collision of an oil tanker and a dredger rose to three yesterday after one of the rescued crewmembers died while being treated at a hospital.

In a radio interview, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said  that two more remain missing while 15 were rescued after the Sierra Leone-flagged MV Hong Hai dredger collided with the MT Petite Soeur chemical/oil tanker Friday night off Corregidor Island.

“The rescue operation is still ongoing. The dredger sank upside down. There is a possibility that the two missing are inside the dredger. It is difficult but we will try to go inside,” he said, adding that the tanker was brought to the anchorage in Mariveles, Bataan.

“The captain of the chemical tanker is cooperating in the investigation and the marine casualty investigation is already there to determine the root cause of the incident,” he noted.

Balilo pointed out that the probe would find, among other facts, if both vessels followed their traffic routing scheme.

“We will determine if they follow their traffic separation scheme; second is the maneuver, we will determine if the decision-making in their maneuvers was correct; third, the use of devices in aiding the decision-making like the radars… It is important if efforts were made at the last minute to avoid the collision, so these are among the subjects of the investigation,” Balilo said.

The ill-fated Hong Hai had 16 Chinese and four Filipino crewmembers. There were no reports of casualties or injuries among the 21 crewmembers of Petite Soeur.

According to Balilo, based on the statement of the captain of Petite Soeur, the chemical tanker hit the tail of the dredger.

“We want to check if the dredger entered and overtook as we are determining if it is a case of overtaking or a case of crossing situation,” he said.

At the same time, Balilo gave assurance that the PCG does not expect oil spill from the sunken dredger as “it only uses fuel or possibly diesel so we don’t expect any oil slick from the dredger.”

The PCG report did not say where the two ships were heading when the disaster struck at around 9:30 p.m. Friday.

The last known port call of Hong Hai was Botolan in Zambales, while the Marshall Island-flagged tanker Petite Soeur reportedly came from Mariveles in Bataan.