18 Vietnamese crew held as ship hits Philippine reef
MANILA (AFP) – Eighteen Vietnamese crew members of a cargo ship have been detained after it ploughed into a coral reef in the central Philippines, the coastguard said Tuesday.
The Unicorn Logger, a Panama-flagged freighter, ran aground at a protected marine sanctuary off the tiny island of Sambawan on Friday, coastguard spokesman Armand Balilo said.
“The crew are detained aboard their vessel as the damage to the reef is assessed,” he told AFP.
The ship was carrying logs from Malaysia to Japan when it hit the reef, Balilo added.
A central Philippines coastguard spokesman, Ensign Jamaal Aceron, told AFP the ship will be towed for repairs to a shipyard in the central port of Cebu once the extent of the damage on the vessel is determined.
Source: http://borneobulletin.com.bn/index.php/