READIED FOR TOWING Detained MV Hyperline 988, which ran aground in the waters of San Felipe, Zambales, on May 29, is being prepared for towing to Navotas City on June 15. —photo courtesy of PCG-Zambales
SAN FELIPE, ZAMBALES, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has lodged a complaint for violation of immigration laws against the seven Chinese crew of the international cargo vessel that ran aground in the waters of this town in May.
The Chinese crew, now confined in the town, were accused of violating the Philippine Immigration Law for, among others, the unauthorized entry of their vessel, the Sierra Leone-registered Hyperline 988, into the waters of San Felipe; for hoisting only the Philippine flag even if it is a foreign-registered ship; and for their “willful disregard of issued radio challenges with no justifiable reason.”
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When the ship’s crew members made an unauthorized entry into Zambales waters on May 14 despite being foreign nationals, it constituted an “act of obtaining entry into the Philippines by willful, false, or misleading representation or willful concealment of a material fact and must be inflicted with punishment in accordance with law,” according to the PCG, represented by PO2 Nathaniel Don Gamis, in the complaint lodged before the provincial prosecutor of Zambales on May 24, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer only on Sunday.
“The fact that the shipmaster admitted that their supposed port of destination is in Manila but due to high anchorage fees, they decided to proceed to San Felipe, Zambales, is a clear indication [they want] to avoid legal obligation in the Philippines,” the complaint added.
The vessel subsequently ran aground near an unfinished wharf in the town while it was being held in the area by the PCG.
The legal action taken against the crew of Hyperline 988 surfaced just as the salvor hired to remove the ship from San Felipe was set to tow the vessel to Navotas City by Monday.
However, there was no information yet on the fate of the Chinese crew now confined in the town as the PCG could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
To date, five crew members have been forced to stay at a local resort, while two others stayed on the vessel to secure it.
Can’t wait for storm
Ferdinand Simeon, owner of FES Challenger Salvage and Builders, said in an interview on Sunday that they would have to remove the vessel from the area before any typhoon comes.
“We can’t wait until there is a storm and the water will rise before we remove it, so by all means, if we can handle it tomorrow, we need to remove it,” said Simeon.
The vessel was supposed to have been towed last month but they had to resolve first the issues involving the payment for the damage incurred on the unfinished pier and the insurance policies, he added.
The vessel has been kept in the town’s waters since May 16, two days after the PCG Zambales station was notified about an unidentified vessel with a Philippine flag in the waters off San Felipe. At that time, the vessel had turned off its automatic identification system and did not respond to radio communications.
The PCG had to rely on an online source to establish that it was Hyperline 988, which is owned by a Philippine company, Hyperline Corp. Philippines, but carried the flag of Sierra Leone. It was held in the vicinity waters off Barangay Sindol on May 16 after the PCG found 21 deficiencies in the vessel’s documentation. There were also no permits or even a crew list presented during the PCG’s inspection.
It was also at that point when they learned from the ship’s captain about the Chinese crew’s decision to drop anchor in San Felipe waters to avoid the high anchorage fees in Manila, even if the town has no port facility.
On May 29, the vessel ran aground at the unfinished pier in Barangay Maloma while on its way to Barangay Bolitoc in Sta. Cruz town, also in Zambales, to change anchorage.