Report: Vietnamese fishing vessel spotted off Tubbataha

A Vietnamese fishing vessel was detected off the north atoll of Tubbataha Reef in Palawan Friday night, state-run Philippines News Agency reported on Saturday.

The PNA report said Naval Forces West head Commodore Joseph Rustom Peña sent a patrol gunboat to the Tubbataha Reefs National Park to verify the sighting.

If confirmed, it would be the third time a foreign vessel got near Tubbataha so far this year.

Last Jan. 17, the minesweeper USS Guardian was grounded on Tubbataha and was removed only on March 30. On April 8, a Chinese fishing vessel was also grounded there and was eventually removed.

Both incidents caused damage to the reef.

The PNA report said Peña was informed about the sighting Saturday morning by Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) chief Angelique Songco.

According to the PNA report, the Tubbataha Park Ranger Station radar spotted "an unidentified vessel flying a Philippine flag" about 3.4 nautical miles east of the north atoll at 9 p.m. Friday.

Marine park rangers went near the fishing vessel at 10 p.m., upon seeing that it was just half nautical mile away from the reef, and lugging a line behind it.

The PNA said the fishing vessel was described as weighing 60 gross tons "and of Vietnamese origin."

It added that when the vessel's crew saw the park rangers approaching, they immediately sailed away towards the northeast.

The PNA report said the park rangers reportedly fired several warning shots, but the foreign fishing vessel continued to move away fast. — LBG, GMA News