The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said it has sent a letter to the Marshall Islands asking it to allow the agency to inspect the ship involved in the fatal ramming incident near Pangasinan.
PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said they also asked for a cross-match between the samples of paint recovered from the ill-fated FB Dearyn and oil tanker MT Pacific Anna.
“Tayo ay sumulat na sa Marshall Islands para mai-cross-match natin iyong pintura at payagan tayong mag-inspeksyon doon sa motor tanker,” he said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon pubic briefing.
(We wrote to the Marshall Islands so we can cross-match the paint and allow us to do an inspection on the motor tanker.)
On October 2, three Filipino fishermen were killed when their fishing boat was rammed by Pacific Anna, registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands, while transiting the waters off Agno, Pangasinan.
The fatalities were a 47-year-old captain and two crew members aged 38 and 62—all residents of Zambales province.
During a Senate committee hearing on October 12, Captain Leo Bolivar, country representative of Marshall Islands’ Maritime and Corporate Registries, said their preliminary investigation is being concluded.
“Right now, as we speak, we are already in the process of concluding the investigation and it will be a full report that will be forwarded to IMO [International Maritime Organization] database and it will be visible for Port State Control (PSC),” Bolivar said. — BM, GMA Integrated News
