SUBIC, ZAMBALES—At least seven Chinese crew members of a foreign aggregate carrier were detained by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in San Felipe town in this province on Thursday for illegal entry after they failed to present proper documents during an inspection.
In an interview, Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the PCG station in Zambales, said the Hyperline 988, a vessel registered in Sierra Leone and owned by Hyperline Corp. Philippines, was being held in the vicinity waters off Barangay Sindol.
There were no permits or even a crew list presented during the inspection, Diciano said. The PCG also found at least 21 “deficiencies” in the vessel’s documentation, 13 of which were grounds for detention like the absence of statutory certificates and garbage and oil record books.
Avoiding high fees
The vessel, which the PCG said arrived from Hong Kong, also had eight minor infractions under maritime safety and pollution regulations.
Citing information obtained from the ship captain, a report from the local PCG station said the vessel’s declared destination was Manila.
“However, due to high anchorage fees (in Manila), they chose the more affordable anchorage,” it said.
San Felipe town, however, doesn’t have a port and the vessel did not pay any anchorage fee, the Inquirer learned.
The PCG Zambales station was first notified about an unidentified vessel with a Philippine flag in the waters off San Felipe on Tuesday.
Online source
The PCG had to rely on an online source to establish that it was the Hyperline 988, since the vessel had turned off its automatic identification system and did not respond to radio communications.
In March, the presence of at least 17 vessels registered in the Philippines but owned by China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd., caused an alarm among San Felipe residents.
According to local officials, the vessels were then engaged in dredging activities. They were later detained at the Manila anchorage area by the Maritime Safety Services Command of the PCG. —With a report from Kathleen de Villa