Repairs on CCG ship in Panatag collision may take 2 months — PH Navy

LOOK: China Coast Guard-3104 sustains damage to its forecastle after being rammed by the Chinese navy in Panatag Shoal on Monday. On Thursday, authorities said repairs on the ship may take two months. | 📷: PTV reporter Patrick De Jesus via John Eric Mendoza, INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The repair of the damaged China Coast Guard ship in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal collision may take up to two months, a Philippine Navy official said on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, made the estimate as Reuters reported Wednesday that the CCG ship with bow number 3104 is now under repair at a naval base in China’s Hainan Island.

“Generally, I would say, around one to two months,” Trinidad said of the duration of CCG ship’s repair in an online interview.

On August 11, the CCG-3104 was chasing Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Suluan at high speed when it clashed with People’s Liberation Army-Navy warship No. 164.

READ: break-chinese-ships-collide-off-scarborough-pcg-offers-help/

The forecastle of an 80-meter CCG ship was crushed after collision, which made it unseaworthy, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Trinidad noted that while the front part of the ship was badly crushed, it remains unclear the damage extent of the underwater part of the ship.

“What is important here is the alignment of the shafting, so if there will be damages or misalignment to that, that would entail more repair work,” he said of the key component that makes a ship move through water. “It would take more time.”

READ: ‘Major loss of face’: China experts weigh in on ‘news blackout’ of Scarborough collision

Tarriela also said four of CCG crew went overboard after the collision, but China has yet to confirm any casualties.

Meanwhile, Trinidad said he will have to check if the Navy is still monitoring PLA-N No. 164 in the West Philippine Sea.

Since its effective takeover since 2012, China enforced what experts call “exclusion zone enforcement” around the Panatag Shoal, outright flouting the 2016 Arbitral Award which declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea but the landmark international ruling effectively dismissed this in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights. /mr