PH fishing boat rammed by unknown vessel in WPS; 3 missing, 5 rescued

A Filipino fishing boat with eight fishermen on board was rammed by an unidentified vessel in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday.

In its report, the Coast Guard District National Capital Region - Central Luzon said the incident happened on January 30 but was reported to its unit only on February 16, Sunday.

"Accordingly, on or about 08:00 p.m. on January 30, 2025, an unidentified vessel rammed FBCA Prince Elmo 2, with eight crews onboard, at an unknown location," the Coast Guard district said.

In the vicinity waters off Vietnam on Sunday, MV DONG AN rescued five of the eight fishermen. The remaining three, however, were reported as missing.

"The five crew members were on the bow of the boat when they were rescued by the MV DONG AN at 3:15 PM on February 16, 2025," the Coast Guard district said.

"After rescuing, the said vessel searched the area for the three missing fishermen but yielded negative results," it added.

Coast Guard Station Bataan called Mr. John Sayao of Atiko Trans Incorporated, agent of MV DONG AN, and informed him that the ship was transiting to Bataan and was set to arrive in Mariveles on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard deployed BRP Boracay with a medical team to proceed to the vicinity waters off Corregidor Island to rendezvous with MV DONG AN and receive the rescued fishermen.

On Wednesday morning, the five rescued crew members were transferred from MV DONG AN to BRP Boracay.

They were turned over to Coast Guard Sub-Station Naic and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) Naic.

Incident condemned

In a statement Thursday, Senator Francis Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, condemned the ramming of the Filipino fishing boat in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands.

"Three of their companions are still missing. I hope our authorities can find them. I also support the efforts of the PCG to track down the culprit, and for the government to take appropriate actions," he said.

Aside from this latest incident, Tolentino noted that similar events were reported in the past including the one in Subic, Zambales in July 2024 in which one victim has yet to be retrieved, and in Panatag Shoal in October 2023 where three fishermen were killed.

These incidents involved foreign vessels.

"I pushed for the passage of the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Law precisely to prevent such incidents. The law designates sea lanes, which would serve like 'expressways' for foreign vessels passing through our archipelagic waters, thereby ensuring the safety of our fishermen out at sea," he said, referring to Republic Act 12065.

In June 2019, Chinese fishing vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212 rammed the Filipino fishing boat Gem-Ver (Gem-Vir), which was stationed at Recto Bank. The trawler then sailed away, abandoning 22 Filipino fishermen in the open sea for at least four hours before a passing Vietnam vessel rescued them.

The owner of the Chinese ship extended his apology to the affected fisherfolk through the Philippine Embassy in China.

Amid a public outcry, former President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to the Filipino fishermen but maintained his view that it was nothing but a "maritime incident." — VDV, GMA Integrated News