Another foreign commercial vessel identified as Japan-bound MV Unicorn Logger loaded with more than 1,607 pieces of lumber ran aground off Maripipi Island in Biliran Province on Thursday night.
The 5,691-ton commercial vessel has a crew of 18 people headed by Capt. Nguyen Anh Tuan. The Panama-registered vessel was loaded with at 836.06 metric tons.
The ship was ran aground on Sambawan Islet at around 7:10 PM, Maripipi local town government operations head Ritchie Peñaflor said in a phone interview. The vessel’s operator was also identified as Wisdom Marine Lines, based in Panama. According to the ship’s record the vessel departed from Sandakan, Malaysia on June 11 around 9:00 AM and was sailing to Japan when it ran aground on Sambawan.
According to the local government reports, the vessel hit about 270 square meters of coral reefs off the Province of Biliran. The (–foul word(s) removed–)sment was already made by the local fishery and agricultural office. The crew members of the ship were all Vietnamese and the local government unit are currently facing a language barrier.