PCG stops search for ship's crewmen

MANILA, Philippines - After 23 days, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has terminated its search for the 22 missing crewmen of a China-bound Vietnamese ship that sank near Camiguin Island in Cagayan province last Dec. 25.

However, the PCG said in a statement that even if it had stopped the aerial, water and land search for the crewmen of M/V Vinalines Queen, its Northern Luzon District would continue to be on the lookout for them.

“Although we have terminated the search, we have come out with an advisory to all vessels passing the area to be on the lookout for any wreckage,” PCG spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente said.

The PCG received a distress signal from the M/V Vinalines Queen, which was reportedly loaded with nickel ore, as it was traveling from Indonesia to China.

When it first sought PCG assistance, the Vietnamese ship was only listing, but it eventually sank some 143 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Northern Luzon.

The PCG immediately responded by conducting patrols along the shorelines of Barangays Balatubat and Naguilan on Camiguin Island in Calayan, Cagayan for possible sightings of the missing crewmen.