A local court in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro has granted the petition of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to issue a hold departure order (HDO) against the top officers of a Hong Kong-flagged carrier vessel, which collided with a local fishing boat last month in the waters of the province.
The order was issued by Judge Ulysses Delgado of Regional Trial Court, Branch 44 against the key officers of the Australian-bound MV Vienna Wood, which collided with the F/V Liberty 5 in the waters of Mamburao on June 27.
All the 12 crewmen and two passengers of the local fishing boat, which sank as a result of the collision, have not been recovered despite a weeklong search by the Coast Guard, maritime policemen and even by the Navy.
“In relation to the Criminal Complaint for Reckless Imprudence Resulting to Multiple Homicide and Damage to Property against Nomikos Transworld Maritime; Ship Captain Zhang Wei Wei; Shi Bin, third officer; Yang Xifeng, chief officer; Yi Lie second officer, the Precautionary Hold Departure Order that our legal team filed against the Respondents was granted,” said Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo.
Nomikos is the owner of the MV Vienna Wood, which sailed from the Subic Freeport before the incident.
Earlier, PCG Commandant Vice Admiral George Ursabia Jr. assured the families of the 14 missing crewmen and passengers of F/B Liberty 5 that they would help them in filing a civil case against Nomikos and the officers of the Vienna Wood.
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