The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) rescued 17 Vietnamese who are crew members of cargo vessel M/V “Dolphin 15” after it ran aground off Balabac, Palawan on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, acting chief of the AFP Western Command (WESCOM) public affairs office, identified the rescued individuals as Dang Van Minh, ship captain of M/V Dolphin 15; Le Phu Tri, Truong Ngoc Dieu, Pham Van Chung, Nguyen Tat Minh, Nguyen Van Truong, Tran Van Ba, Truong Van Trung, Nguyen Van Luan, Bui Nguyen Thanh, Nguyen Van Tuan, Pham Van Loi, Bui Ngoc Long, Tran Van Ngoc, Phan Hai Duong, Nguyen Van Canh, and Pham The Hung.
A military report reaching Camp Aguinaldo said that M/V Dolphin 15 was monitored sailing at four nautical miles east, southeast of Barangay Melville in Balabac town last Dec. 21.
Since the Vietnamese vessel was passing through the territorial waters of the Philippines, littoral monitoring station (LMS) Melville issued a radio challenge to the crew and they disclosed that their last port of call was in Tacloban, and they were en route to Ho Chi Minh City.
But later that night, M/V Dolphin 15 radioed LMS Melville and requested to take shelter at 2.1 nautical miles southwest of Barangay Melville “due to worsening weather and sea condition.”
Their ordeal lasted for five days until the vessel was dragged to a shallow portion of Barangay Melville on the night of Dec. 26 due to big waves and strong winds.
This prompted the crew to abandon M/V Dolphin 15 the following day as they faced risks due to the possible tilting of the vessel.
Personnel of the WESCOM immediately extended help to the distressed crew as they provided the latter with a sheltering area while waiting for their sister company ship, M/V Victoria 19, which later towed the grounded vessel.
“As a good neighbor, the Philippine station accommodated, and provided shelter and food to the 17 crew of M/V DOLPHIN 15,” Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, commander of WESCOM, said.
The crew were also given medical and immigration assistance through the local government of Balabac.
"Notwithstanding our duty as protector of the Philippine territory and sovereign rights, your Western Command, as a good neighbor, is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to whoever and whenever it is needed," Carlos said.