PCG files criminal raps vs MV Vienna Wood crew
Crewmen of the MV Vienna Wood that collided with FV Liberty 5 off Occidental Mindoro have been charged in a criminal case before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in the province Monday.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed that a criminal case of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and damage to property against the shipping company, master, and officers of the Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier was already filed before Prosecutor Rowena Garcia-Villaflores of the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Occidental Mindoro.
The criminal complaint was filed against the cargo ship’s company Nomikos Transworld Maritime, and officers namely Zhang Wei Wei, the captain, Shi Bin, Yi Lei, Yang Xifeng, Fan Qoujin, Xia Zhen, and Wang Xingtu.
According to Commodore Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesperson, the case was filed at the Provincial Prosecutor's Office to determine probable cause.
“PCG Station Commander of Occidental Mindoro, LT Valerie Lagua acted as the complainant. Witnesses include PCG personnel, responders, and fishermen,” Balilo said.
The Coast Guard disclosed that in filing the criminal complaint, they took into the consideration the eye-witness accounts of fishermen who were within the area on the time of the collision, fishing vessels who were first to respond, the admission of the collision from the Captain of the MV Vienna Wood, and the nature and extent of the damages to both vessels, including the evidence gathered from the PCG monitoring posts in Mamburao.
The Coast Guard Legal Service was also compelled to file the case as they “believe that there is a finding of criminal negligence on the part of the MV Vienna Wood in relation to the collision.”
The search and retrieval mission for the 14 Filipinos, mostly fishermen, aboard the sunken FV Liberty 5 is extended until Tuesday, July 7.
The Australia-bound MV Vienna Wood has been under detention under the port state control system.
After five days of continued sea and aerial search and rescue operation, no signs of life were found from the collision site off Barangay Tayamaan in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro and nearby shorelines and municipalities.
The search and rescue operation was then shifted to retrieval operations as the FV Liberty 5 was seen sinking 2,000 meters in the ocean.
In the middle of a heavy downpour and rough seas on the night of June 27, the MV Vienna Wood from Subic collided with the approaching FV Liberty 5 which was on its way to Navotas from Cagayan de Tawi-tawi.
The fishing boat capsized due to the impact and eventually sank. Investigators found out that MV Vienna Wood stayed in the collision area after the incident but failed to launch its own rescue operation for the fishermen of the ill-fated boat despite being well-equipped.