Owners of rammed PH boat, Chinese ship settle case
Filipino fishing banca Ruel J capsized off the waters of Paluan, Occidental Mindoro. (Photo from the Philippine Coast Guard)
An amicable settlement has been reached between the respective owners of a Filipino fishing boat and a Chinese cargo ship that reportedly rammed it in the waters off Occidental Mindoro province earlier this month.
In a statement on Saturday issued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Southern Tagalog District, the owner of Filipino fishing boat “FB Ruel J” “has accepted a full settlement for the loss and damage incurred” after the fishing boat was hit by “MV Tai Hang 8” on Dec. 5.
The PCG added Pandiman Philippines Inc. was appointed by Taihang Shipping Company Ltd., the owner of the Chinese ship, to assess the damage to “FB Ruel J.”
Pandiman is a correspondent in the Philippines for the majority of the P&I (protection and indemnity insurance) associations and clubs of the London-based insurer International Group of P&I Clubs.
No information as of press time, however, was available on the amount of the settlement the parties agreed to.
Article continues after this advertisementBased on a PCG report, “FB Ruel J” was anchored at a “payao,” or a fish aggregating device, some 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) west off Paluan town in Occidental Mindoro province at past 4 p.m. on Dec. 5, when it was reportedly hit by “MV Tai Hang 8.”
Article continues after this advertisementLeft adrift
Citing the accounts of the survivors, the PCG reported the fishermen were “left adrift as the foreign vessel continued its voyage unknowingly.”
The five survivors—Junrey Sardan, Ryan Jay Daus, Bryan Pangatungam, Cristian Arizala, and Joshua Barbas—were rescued at around noon the next day near Pandan Island, Sablayan town, according to the PCG.
The fishermen said they had seen the people aboard the Chinese vessel “looking at them” after they fled to their smaller service boats seconds before the collision.
In a more recent incident, nine crew members were rescued after their brand-new motor boat partially sank in the sea off Malabrigo Point in Batangas province on Friday due to adverse weather conditions.
In a report on Saturday by the PCG, “MB Hasta La Vista” departed the port of Dinagat Islands on Dec. 20 to embark on a 660-km journey to its destination in Calatagan, Batangas.
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