Fishing boat collides with cargo ship off

MANILA, Philippines — Ilocos A Taiwanese fishing boat with seven crewmembers onboard reportedly collided with a Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel in the waters off Candon, Ilocos Sur on Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday.

Initial information received by the PCG said the collision occurred at 9 p.m. some 77 nautical miles off the coast of Candon.

The vessel, which is still being verified by the PCG, came from the port of Changshu in China. It was reportedly headed to Muara Berau in Indonesia when it figured in the acccident.

Arthur Yang, attaché of the Taiwan Coast Guard (TCG), has coordinated with the PCG Command Center and requested assistance for the fishing boat Sheng Feng No. 12.

The PCG deployed BRP Malapascua to check on the status of the fishing boat.

The Malapascua reported that the bow of the Sheng Feng sustained damage that caused seawater to enter the boat.

As of 10 a.m. yesterday, the Malapascua was towing the Sheng Feng toward Vigan.

The PCG and the TCG coordinated with the owner of Sheng Feng.

They recommended that the boat be towed to the nearest port in Luzon, where it would be inspected to ensure safety of the five Indonesian and two Taiwanese crewmembers.