THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deploys its search and rescue (SAR) teams with air and floating assets to search for the missing Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel, SHENG FENG NO 128.
The fishing vessel, with one Taiwanese and five Indonesian fishermen on board, was last seen 414 nautical miles northwest of Palau on 17 February 2023.
The PCG Command Center immediately directed Coast Guard Districts in Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Southeastern Mindanao, Northeastern Mindanao, and Northeastern Luzon to launch SAR operations.
This occurred after receiving a request for assistance from Taiwan Coast Guard Attaché, Commander Arthur Yang, who also shared the following updates regarding the ongoing SAR operations:
– Two U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft conducted air surveillance but yielded a negative result
– One commercial vessel completed a search at the scene with no finding
– Eight Taiwanese fishing vessels join the operations
– Two Taiwan Coast Guard (TCG) cutters are on the way to search the vicinity waters
On February 27, the Coast Guard Aviation Force has dispatched CESSNA Caravan 2081 to conduct aerial surveillance within the vicinity waters of Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions due to the possibility that the missing Taiwanese fishing vessel drifted towards the country’s eastern seaboard.
