Chinese vessel mainly to blame for sinking of Philippine boat in South China Sea, but Filipino crew had ‘deficiencies’: leaked report

The Philippine ship did not have a proper lookout and had too many crew aboard, according to the report

President Duterte has been criticised for downplaying the June 9 incident, but a new statement from the palace is similar to the report’s conclusion

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The Philippine vessel that was hit by a Chinese ship near Reed Bank. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00pm, 8 Jul 2019Updated: 3:13pm, 13 Dec 2019

A leaked report into the June 9 ramming and sinking of Philippine vessel F/B Gem-Ver in the disputed South China Sea has found the Chinese vessel involved to be mainly at fault for the incident, and that it “failed to take appropriate action to avoid the risk of collision and to render assistance to a vessel in distress”.

While it said the incident was a “very serious marine casualty due to the total loss of the [Philippine] ship”, the report also found that F/B Gem-Ver had certain deficiencies, such as not having a “proper lookout”, having an expired commercial fishing license, and carrying too many crew, including an unlicensed chief engine officer.

[The report] doesn’t paint our fishermen in the brightest light

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr

Seen as being Manila’s official investigation, the report, which was leaked on July 6, contained some details similar to those disclosed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr last week. He told local media the official report he had seen “doesn’t paint our fishermen in the brightest light”.

“They had no lookout … everybody was asleep,” he said.

The incident last month left 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned at sea near Reed Bank when their ship sank after a collision with a Chinese vessel, which then fled the scene. A passing Vietnamese ship later rescued the fishermen.

It has sparked outrage in the Philippines, where protesters last month burned 22 Chinese flags to symbolise those left behind. President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese officials have sought to play the affair down, with the Philippine leader receiving criticism for saying it was a “little maritime accident”.

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