Drifting ship off Bohol ordered seized
THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) has ordered the seizure of a Liberian-flagged cargo ship which has been drifting and loitering off the coast of Bohol without filing a notice of arrival in violation of maritime law.
Reports reaching the office of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio showed that although there was no contraband found inside the Liberian-flagged M/V Ohshu Maru, a warrant of seizure of detention (WSD), dated May 3, 2024, was issued against the ship “for drifting and loitering in the Bohol Sea since last week while en route to the port of Kinuura, Japan.”
A team composed of the BoC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Cagayan de Oro (CIIS-CdO), Philippine Navy (PN), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency inspected the vessel on May 1, 2024 but found no illegal shipment.
“The WSD is issued because the captain did not issue a notice of arrival when the vessel started drifting to the Bohol Sea, which as I understand from the field report, started last April 22. Under our rules, the ship’s master only has 24 hours after its arrival to file a notice or protest explaining the circumstances of the change in its course,” Rubio said.
A notice of preliminary conference hearing against the vessel was issued along with the WSD.
The ship’s master, Capt. Pepito M. Agmata, executed an undertaking and a letter of apology dated May 1, 2024 to explain the circumstances of why the vessel was found drifting in Philippine internal waters.
CIIS Director Verne Enciso cited the letter, which said that the vessel was advised by its charterer to drift to a safe place at Philippine Sea while en route to the port of Kinuura.
“Captain Agmata was also adamant that he and his crew did not allow any vessel to come close to their ship while it drifted to Bohol Sea. But while the letter expressed his apology for not reporting immediately, the vessel must still be subjected to seizure proceedings because it is the proper forum for Mr. Agmata to explain what happened,” Enciso said.
He added that the captain’s explanation would be subject to approval under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and other applicable laws, rules and regulations.
The WSD recommended that the vessel be monitored by the PN and PCG until a clearance from the proper authorities is issued.
Deputy Commissioner for Customs Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy said that “an intent to avoid detection of any irregular movements by the vessel” made it the subject of inspection proceedings because of the possibility of its involvement in smuggling activities.
“We received the vessel tracking system records, which said that M/V Ohshu Maru turned off its automatic identification system transmission in Malaysia for a day and eight hours before entering our waters. Even the Coast Guard Station in Siquijor was unable to establish a radio communication with the vessel,” he said.
The vessel, its master, and crew could face charges in violation of Sections 214, 218, 300, and 1212 of the CMTA, the Customs Memorandum Circular 08-2019, and Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 15-2020.
Section 1212 of the CMTA (Entrance of Vessel through Necessity) stated that a master of a vessel only has 24 hours after its arrival to make a protest under oath explaining the causes or circumstances of the necessity — whether by stress of water or other reasons — to be in a port other than its destination.
This order is complemented by Section 5.2.1 of CAO 152020 (Entrance of Vessel from a Foreign Port), which states that a vessel must report its arrival to the district collector at the port of entry or the customs officer authorized to meet the vessel at the end of the sea passage.