MANILA — The mayor of Cavite City on Tuesday said he wanted an investigation into the collision between two foreign-flagged ships off Corregidor Island over the weekend.

The Sierra Leone-flagged MV Hong Hai 189, a dredger, capsized after it collided with Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MV Petite Souer on Saturday.

A Filipino safety officer of the Hong Hai 189 died while being treated at a hospital, the coast guard said. Two other Chinese crew members died in the incident, according to media reports.

• Two foreign-flagged ships collide off Corregidor Island, 2 dead

Speaking on ANC's Headstart, Cavite City Mayor Denver Chua said he wanted to know what the two vessels were doing in the area. He noted that local authorities had not given any dredging permit to the MV Hong Hai 189.

"Kasi alam mo yung aming water territory is medyo malawak yan eh. Part dyan yun San Nicolas Shoal, which is one of the parang sand mining places ‘no, para doon sa mga nire-reclaim sa Pasay and sa Bulacan. But as far as the city is concerned, wala kaming ini-issuing permit sa kanila," he said.

(Our water territory is wide. Part of that is San Nicolas Shoal, where sand mining happens for reclamation sites in Pasay and Bulacan. But as far as the city is concerned, we didn't issue them any permit.)

He stressed that dredging activities should be authorized by the appropriate local government unit.

"Ang issue sa amin ngayon is wala naman kaming ini-isyung permit, anong ginagawa nila doon, doon ba sila nagde-dredge sa mismong area natin? Dumadaan nga lang ba sila? Kung ano-anong nangyari," the official said.

"So ito yung mga bagay na gusto nating malaman natin sa investigation natin kasi if ever na we find out na nagde-dredge sila sa area natin at wala silang permit, I mean hahabulin natin talaga itong mga companies na ‘to nagde-dredge sa area natin kasi it is unauthorized," he said.

(We didn't issue any permit, so what are they doing there? Are they dredging there? Or were they just passing by? A lot of things are happening. These are what we want to find out. If we find out they are dredging, we will run after them.)

Chua added that collision area is a restricted site.

"These areas are considered a...tourist spot kasi may mga dive site tayo near Corregidor Island. And according doon sa latest masterplan natin ng Corregidor Island, kasama ‘tong mga area na ‘to sa ating restricted area," he said.

(These areas are considered tourist spots because we have dive sites near Corregidor Island. And according to our latest masterplan of Corregidor Island, this is among our restricted areas.)

The Philippine Coast Guard will look into the activities of the vessels before they collided, said its spokesperson Armand Balilo.

"Sasalain natin yung kanilang mga statements, vis-à-vis yung mga circumstances ng nangyari, kasama na dyan yung maneuvering, yung maneuvers na inemploy ng both parties. Maaari din yung tamang ruta ba yung mga barko, at of course kung nakatulong ba yung mga lookouts, yung mga radars para makita kung gaano kalapit yung mga barko," he said.

(We will examine their statements vis-a-vis the circumstances, as well as look into the maneuvers they employed. We will also check if they followed the right routes, and if the radars helped.)

— ANC, 2 May 2023