Seventeen Vietnamese crew members of a half-submerged general cargo vessel were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine National Police's Maritime Group (PNP-MG) off Palawan's waters on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said Vietnamese-flagged "Viet Hai Star" was sailing off Balabac Island around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when it ran aground at approximately 810 yards off Balabac Port.
The cargo vessel departed Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and en route to Cagayan de Oro while carrying 4,000 tons of rice.
The PCG said one of the crew members noticed that there was a leakage at the starboard side of the vessel's bow so they sent out a distress signal.
After receiving a report about the distressed vessel, the PCG and PNP-MG conducted a joint search and rescue (SAR) operation.
"They [rescue teams] reached the vicinity waters at around 9:45 p.m. and checked the status of the crew and the distressed vessel. Upon initial assessment, the crew found out that the first compartment of the bow was already flooded," Balilo said.
"They [crew members] continued to monitor the situation until they eventually decided to abandon the ship around 4:20 a.m. today, 22 November 2023," he added.
The joint SAR team carrying the 17 Vietnamese crew arrived at Balabac Port around 5:10 a.m. The crew were all in good physical condition, the PCG said.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard Station South Western Palawan monitoring team reported that Viet Hau Star was already half-submerged as of 9:21 a.m.
The PCG's Marine Environmental Protection Unit (MEPU) in Palawan also conducted an oil spill assessment within the vicinity waters off Balabac Island which yielded a negative result, Balilo shared.