Chinese ship rescues 26 Filipino crewmen of sinking ship

SAN FRANCISCO — The crew of a Chinese vessel rescued 26 Filipino seamen in waters off Camiguin Island in the Philippines hours after their cargo ship sank on the morning of Friday, January 9, the Philippines Coast Guard reported.

Big waves and strong winds battered the crewmen’s LCT 378 in the vicinity of Camiguin Island around 4 a.m., according to a report by MarineLink.com.

Capt. Edilberto I. Jugarap sent a distress signal when the ship continued to list and water flooded the cargo hold. The Filipinos abandoned ship at around 8:30 a.m. before LCT 378 totally capsized off Camiguin.

The distress call was earlier received by MV Tongying and later rescued the 26 seamen onboard two inflatable rafts.

Jack Yu, a crew of MV Tongying, likewise coordinated with the Coast Guard Action Center for the safe transfer of the rescued seamen.

Upon receipt of said report, the Coast Guard District Northern Mindanao deployed the personnel of Coast Guard Station (CGS) Dapitan to rendezvous with MV Tongying at 50NM northeast of Port of Dapitan.

The 26 seamen were safely transferred to MV Aleson Con Carrier 9 and were brought to Coast Guard Station Dapitan for appropriate medical attention and further investigation.