Chinese crew of distressed fishing vessel in Eastern Samar seeks Marcos’ help

NO PAPERS A Philippine Coast Guard team on the BRP Cabra approaches a stalled tanker in the waters off Suluan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, in this photo taken on Jan. 27. The Bureau of Immigration has been asked to take custody of the tanker’s seven Chinese crew members after they failed to show proper identification documents. —PCG PHOTO

TACLOBAN CITY — The seven Chinese crew members of a distressed fishing vessel in the sea off Suluan Island, Guiuan town, Eastern Samar are seeking the help of President Marcos so they would be allowed to go home.

Cherry Song, whose husband is a cousin of the vessel’s owner, said their families had been worried about their safety and were waiting for their return.

“They are appealing to our President and our other government officials for them to leave and return to China. It has been two months since their boat was towed,” she said.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) towed FV Da 899, which was owned by the Binhai County Fifth Shipping Company after it was found drifting on Jan. 26 in the waters of Suluan Island.

The vessel was from Fujian en route to Guangdong, also in China.

The crew members were identified as Chen Zhe Nei, He Cheng Sun, Tong Yat Sun, Lei Deng Zai, Mak Pak Lam, Liu Jian Ping, and Shi Nun Yu.

Nei and Sun served as captain and the vessel’s chief engineer, respectively.

Except for Sun and Lam, who are from Hong Kong, the others were from Guangdong, China.

According to Song, the PCG, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the National Bureau of Investigation had inspected the vessel thoroughly and found nothing illegal inside the 496-tonnage ship.

Song said if Filipinos, through the PCG, are sincere in helping the foreigners, they should be allowed to return to China.

“They (seven crew members of a Chinese vessel) just happened to make a distress call. They were in a maritime peril, that was why the vessel was towed to the Tacloban port for humanitarian reasons,” she said.

“We have offered to fix the damage to the vessel, but they (Philippine authorities) ignored us. If indeed they are sincere in helping these Chinese nationals, and for humanitarian grounds and as the ship did not contain anything illegal, they should allow them to leave and return to China,” she added.

Song disclosed that they asked for help from the Presidential Complaint Center on Feb. 3.

The letter, however, was referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs “for appropriate action.”

“We have yet to receive a response from that office,” Song said.

The PCG said earlier that they would allow the vessel to leave only if everything had been cleared.

After conducting a Vessel Safety Enforcement Inspection, the PCG in Tacloban said the vessel had at least 25 “deficiencies” and lacked documents to be allowed to sail.

The PCG said the vessel’s master or skipper failed to present the Certificate of Voyage Registry; Certificate of Ownership; Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate; ship station license; shipboard oil pollution emergency plan; Certificate of Stability; Tonnage Measurement Certificate; magnetic compass; ship logbook, and oil record book, among others.

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