Myanmar vessel runs aground in Zambales

STRANDED This wooden-hull vessel, carrying seven crew members from Myanmar, has been stranded in Silanguin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales, since Monday. —Photo courtesy of the Philippine Coast Guard

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — A vessel carrying seven Myanmar nationals ran aground near Silanguin Cove in this town due to the rough seas, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday.

Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the PCG station in Zambales, said they received a report from a local official around 1 p.m. on Monday about the stranded vessel.

The PCG personnel responded and rescued the crew, who were taken to the Subic station pending an investigation.

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The seven crew members’ identities were confirmed through their identification cards and border control passes, but the reason for the vessel’s presence in Philippine waters remained unclear.

Diciano noted that the vessel, based on its design, appears to be a foreign wooden-hulled fishing boat and believed to have been converted into a ferry operating between Thailand and Myanmar.

PCG probe

He said the crew’s fate would depend on confirmation that their presence in Philippine waters was caused by an accident.

“If so, the PCG will coordinate with Myanmar for a diplomatic resolution, involving the handover of the vessel and crew to the embassy,” he said.

According to Diciano, further investigation would be conducted to determine any violations of the country’s laws, particularly the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8550). —Joanna Rose Aglibot