THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has detained 17 vessels over involvement in dredging activities in Zambales.
In a statement, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said a total of 28 vessels, including one each from China, Sierra Leone and Panama, were inspected over dredging activities in Zambales from March 19 to 21, 2024.
Of the 28, 17, all bareboat charters registered in the Philippines, were detained.
Balilo said that based on the directive of PCG Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, Coast Guard personnel conducted marine environmental protection (MEP) inspection and vessel safety enforcement inspection (VSEI) on board the said vessels where they recorded 344 deficiencies for adjudication of the Coast Guard Station (CGS) Manila.
PCG personnel also secured a copy of issued Special Permits (SP) and Bareboat Charter (BBC) by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to compare it with the list of identified dredgers and suction cutters in Zambales.
They also found that a cutter suction dredger from China has six deficiencies, two anchor boats from Sierra Leone have seven deficiencies, and three tugboats from Panama have 12 deficiencies.
The PCG issued Enforcement Inspection Apprehension Report (EIAR) for adjudication of the vessels.
On March 20, 2024, Coast Guard personnel inspected a Suction Cutter, a tugboat and an anchor boat and identified several deficiencies.
Also, 13 dredgers within the area of responsibility (AOR) of Coast Guard Station Manila were also found with several deficiencies. They were issued with EIARs for adjudication, while nine of them have been detained.
On March 21, eight of 10 inspected vessels were also seized due to 30 detainable deficiencies. More than 150 deficiencies were identified and listed with corresponding EIARs. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)