Philippine Recovers Capsized Wreck and Identifies Tanker Responsible for Collision

The Philippine Coast Guard has found and recovered the wreck of the fishing vessel Dearyn, which was rammed by a foreign commercial vessel on October 2.

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

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 the foreign commercial vessel.

Eleven fishermen who survived provided their accounts of the incident.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has announced today that “successfully recovered the capsized fishing vessel, Dearyn, which was involved in a collision with the foreign vessel identified as MV Pacific Anna based on its Automatic Identification System (AIS) track.”

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.”

In an effort to locate and retrieve the ill-fated fishing vessel, the Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio Abu, has ordered a Task Force to carry out the retrieval operations for the fishing boat Dearyn. The retrieval operations were divided into three phases: aerial survey, security, and salvage operations.

As it is reported the fishing boat, on October 11, successfully refloated and towed to Subic, Zambales. It was then towed for six days until it arrived at Subic Freeport before midnight of October 15.

Joseph Coyme, vice admiral, emphasized the critical importance of Dearyn’s recovery in concluding the ongoing investigation conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard.

He also highlighted that “with the vessel now recovered, the Philippine national police forensics will be able to conduct a thorough investigation, further strengthening the case against the Marshall Flag vessel.”

Video credit: Philippine Coast Guard