A wooden Filipino fishing boat was allegedly rammed by an unidentified vessel in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea last Jan. 30. Five of its fishermen were rescued by a passing Vietnamese ship 17 days after the incident. Three other fishermen are still missing. Lt. Commander Michael John Encina, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deputy spokesperson and Bataan Station commander, said that the wooden fishing boat FBCA Prince Elmo 2 was reportedly rammed by an unknown ship at around 8 p.m. of Jan. 30.

Macairan, E., Romero, A., Lee-Brago, P., Punongbayan, M., Massa, S., Porcalla, D., & Clapano, J. R. (2025, February 20). Phl fishing boat rammed by unknown vessel in WPS. The Philippine Star, p. 2.