Fishing boat hit by Chinese cargo ship in WPS ignored by crew, says owner

Filipino fishing banca Ruel J capsized off the waters of Paluan, Occidental Mindoro. (Photo from the Philippine Coast Guard)

MANILA, Philippines — The crew of a Chinese cargo ship was just allegedly looking at Filipino fishermen as the vessel ran over the latter’s boat that capsized in the West Philippine Sea.

According to Jaziel Juano, owner of the Filipino fishing boat, her boat’s crew saw the incident.

“Ang pagkaalam ko, ang sabi ng mga tauhan ko habang nandoon sila sa service na maliit na bangka nakikita man daw nila na may mga tao sa barko na nakatingin sa kanila,” Juano told radio DWPM on Thursday.

(To my knowledge, my personnel on the small boat saw people in that ship who were only looking at them.)

Filipino fishing boat Ruel J was moored to a fishing aggregation device when it had an alleged allision with Chinese bulk carrier MV Tai Hang 8 on Tuesday afternoon.

A maritime incident is described as allision — as opposed to collision — when a vessel runs over a stationary boat. This is the second case of allision in the WPS this year, following the incident last October that led to the death of three crew members.

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Juano said the fishermen suspected that the ship was on autopilot.

“Sa tingin po nila, sa isip po nila, baka naka ‘auto machine’ po ‘yung barko, walang naghawak ng manibela,” she said.

(They think the ship was on an “auto machine” with no one manning its steering wheel.)

The owner is appealing to the government to make the Chinese vessel accountable for the damages of her boat.

“Hindi lang pamilya ko ang umaasa sa nasira nila, may mga tauhan ako, may mga pamilya sila na nag-aantay din ng suporta sa kanila,” she said.

(Not only does my family rely on that damaged boat, but I also have personnel whose families are waiting for their support.)

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