Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1) – Authorities have narrowed down the possible causes of a collision between two foreign ships in waters off Corregidor Island, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Monday.
“Titingnan natin kung nagkaroon ba ng crossing situation or overtaking of the two vessels. Yung dalawang ‘yun ang possible anggulo doon sa investigation na ginagawa na,” Commodore Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson, told reporters.
[Translation: We will see if there was a crossing situation or overtaking of the two vessels. These are the two possible angles in the investigation that we are conducting.]
“Sasalain natin yung kanilang mga statements. Kasama na diyan yung maneuvers na in-employ ng both parties. Kung tama ba yung ruta ng mga barko at, of course, kung nakatulong yung mga locals, yung mga radars para makita kung gaano kalapit yung mga barko,” he added.
[Translation: We will carefully look at their statements. These would include the maneuvers that both parties employed, if they followed the right route and, of course, if the locals and the radars helped in determining how near the vessels were.]
The collision on April 28 killed three people.
It involved the dredger MV Hong Hai 189 and the chemical and oil tanker MV Petite Souer.
Balilo said the investigation would take about a week and that the tanker, which contains 150,000 liters of diesel oil, will remain with authorities until it is cleared.
“Sa initial na statement ng kapitan ng barko (MV Petite Souer), pumasok yung Chinese vessel (MV Hong Hai 189) sa kanilang linya,” he said.
[Translation: According to the initial statement of the captain of MV Petite Souer, the MV Hong Hai 189 entered their line.]
“Nabangga nila (MV Petite Souer) doon bandang likuran yung Chinese vessel, at yun yung cause kung bakit lumubog,” he added.
