Three fishermen died, one boat captain (age 47) and two boat crew (age 38 and 62), when the Filipino fishing boat Dearyn was rammed by a foreign commercial vessel on October 2, the Philippine Coast Guard said, adding that 11 fishermen who survived have provided their accounts of the incident.

The maritime incident that resulted in the capsizing of the Filipino fishing boat occurred approximately 180 nautical miles from Agno, Pangasinan.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is conducting a thorough investigation to ascertain the details and circumstances surrounding the collision between the fishing boat and the unidentified commercial vessel.

Currently, the coast guard is backtracking and checking all monitored vessels in the area as part of its ongoing investigation.

According to the statements of the eleven fishermen who survived, on October 2 at approximately 4:20 am, “while the fishing boat Dearyn was moored at their payao, adverse weather conditions and darkness may have contributed to their boat not being detected by the passing tanker vessel, thus resulting in the accidental ramming.”

They further shared that they used their small service boats to transport the bodies of their fallen companions to Infanta, Pangasinan.

The President of the Republic of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, expressed his condolences to the families of the fishermen who lost their lives, stating that “We are deeply saddened by the deaths of the three fishermen, including the captain of the fishing vessel. We assure the victims, their families, and everyone that we will exert every effort to hold accountable those who are responsible for this unfortunate maritime incident.”

Efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the vessel involved, and once identified, the PCG will reach out to the flag of the vessel and her next port of call for further investigation.