MANILA, Philippines — The barge that ran aground in Pangasinan came from a tugboat sailing under the flag of Singapore, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday.
To recall, the POE 86 Kuching was unmanned and had no cargo on board when it figured in the accident at a coral reef sanctuary some 1.5 nautical miles from the shores of Silaqui Island.
According to the latest update from the Philippine Coast Guard's Sub-Station in Bolinao, the origin of the POE 86 Kuching barge was tugboat Crystal Procyon.
"While traversing the vicinity waters off Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, the Crystal Procyon encountered strong winds and big waves, cutting the towing line of POE 86 Kuching," the PCG said in its latest update.
The Coast Guard said that due to bad weather, the tugboat's crew decided to abandon the barge and took shelter at the vicinity waters off Sta. Cruz, Zambales until the weather stabilized.
On Tuesday, the Crystal Procyon proceeded to the vicinity waters off Bolinao to coordinate with the LGU and discuss the extent of damage at the grounding site.
Earlier, the PCG said there were no traces of oil spill at the site of the accident.
Per a report by the Philippine News Agency, the damage has yet to be determined by divers from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute.
READ: PCG barge runs aground in Pangasinan
PCG inspections continue as holiday season ends
As of Thursday afternoon, the Philippine Coast Guard said it has monitored a total of 27,579 outbound passengers and 23,298 inbound passengers in all ports nationwide.
In an advisory, it said that exactly 1,591 deployed frontline personnel in 15 districts have inspected a total of 270 vessels and 291 motorbancas.
"The PCG has placed its districts, stations, and sub-stations on 'heightened alert' from 16 December 2021 to 05 January 2022 to manage the influx of port passengers who will visit their families and loved ones in the provinces," the post reads.
"Fully vaccinated local tourists are also expected to flock to tourist destinations that are now slowly re-opening, following the reported lower cases of COVID-19 infection in the country."
The PCG encouraged the riding public to carefully check the existing ordinances of their destination's local government units as LGUs' documentary and testing requirements may vary.
— with a report from The STAR