MANILA – Taiwanese officials have denied that a cargo ship that sank off Sorsogon and is believed to be the source of bundles of illegal drugs found floating at sea is a Taiwanese vessel.
The so-called Jin Ming No. 16 vessel is not registered in Taiwan, and there is no database existing in Taiwan, said a press statement by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) on Monday.
“As a matter of fact, the said ship was already sold to the Togolese Republic in Africa in 2000. Based on the Philippine authorities’ investigation of the ship’s documents, albeit expired, the record confirms that vessel’s nationality is Togolese, not Taiwan,” added TECO. “The so-called Taiwanese documents submitted to Philippine authorities by the captain (a Mainland Chinese) are actually faked and forged by him, not true and authentic documents.”
TECO added that based on the interview of the crew conducted by Philippine authorities, the ship did not come from Taiwan, but rather from Hainan province, part of Mainland China, enroute to Chile.
This information is fully confirmed by the ship’s Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) data and also admitted by the ship’s captain and crew, according to TECO.
TECO immediately assigned one of its staff to travel to the spot of the sinking to assist Philippine authorities to investigate the case, in order to join hands with Philippine law enforcement agencies to combat transnational drug trafficking and crimes.
In reacting, TECO cited a recent media report quoting an unidentified crew member as having “admitted” to a policeman that the cocaine in plastic bags stuffed in a plastic drum found floating at sea near where the vessel sank had indeed come from the sunken boat. The drugs weighed about 24 kilograms and were estimated worth P125 million.
“In fact, the crew member denied the drugs were from their ship. At this point in time, the PNP is still investigating the policeman source of the said incorrect report.,” said TECO.
“In conclusion, TECO wishes to reiterate that the cocaine did not come from Taiwan and the ship is not a Taiwanese ship. We will continue to partner with Philippine law enforcement agencies to combat illegal drug trafficking and eradicate the heinous drug problems.”
