The Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday said that due to a number of factors, the crew of a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship was only able to do half of what they were expected to do after their vessel collided with a Filipino fishing boat off the coast of Mamburao town in Occidental Mindoro province late Saturday. Vice Adm. George Ursabia Jr., the Coast Guard commandant, said that while the bulk carrier Vienna Wood had enough service and lifeboats on deck, its crew did not deploy any of these to rescue or provide assistance to the 14 people on the fishing vessel Liberty 5 after the collision. Instead, Ursabia said, the cargo ship’s crew relied on seven other boats in the area off the coast of Barangay Tayamaan to respond as their vessel maneuvered away from the wreck to avoid causing further damage to the Liberty 5 and hitting the rescuers.

Yee, J., Ocampo, K. R., Adonis, M., Ramos, M., Miranda, R., & Cinco, M. (2020, July 1). Coast Guard: HK boat crew didn’t do enough to save PH fishermen. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A7.