HK vessel collides with Philippine fishing boat, 14 missing

Hong Kong cargo vessel, MV Vienna Wood, is confirmed to have collided with a Philippine fishing boat, FV Liberty 5, in the coast of Mindoro last June 27 at exactly 10:20 PM.

On July 6, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) filed a case of criminal negligence against the crew and shipping company of the foreign vessel.

According to the initial investigation, the collision was proven unintentional and caused by rough seas and bad weather. The real damage came from neglect of maritime law by the foreign crew leading to civil and criminal liabilities.

PCG Commandant Vice Admiral George Ursabia Jr. said that they only received the distress call from the captain of MV Vienna Wood a few hours after the collision happened.

Despite the search and retrieval operation for the 12 missing fishermen and two passengers for nine days, there were no signs of the victims. 

On July 7, Tuesday, the seaborne and aerial operation was called off.

PCG told the victims’ families that the MV Vienna Wood ship crew will be held responsible and their unit will keep actively monitoring the area.

“No matter how long this takes, we will not abandon this,” Ursabia stated as he promised to update the families on any findings.

He also added that PCG is willing to provide aid if the families wanted to press charges against the ship crew.

LAYOUT BY: Laiza Simeoune B. Sanchez

PHOTO SOURCE(S): The Marine Executive, Shutterstock and Marrine Traffic