Vienna-Wood-N

The Mamburao Regional Trial Court in Occidental Mindoro has dismissed the charges filed against the 'Vienna Wood N' regarding thecollision with the fishing vessel 'Liberty V'. The Philippine Coast Guard reported, that the owner of the vessel had a meeting with the relatives of the affected victims. and the two parties reached a settlement, which led the local court to dismiss the case of reckless imprudence, resulting in multiple homicide and damage to property filed by the families of the victims. The District Commander of the Coastguard Southern Visayas stated that due to the dismissal, the vessel has now been allowed to leave Philippine waters and headed to Shanghai, ETA Oct 1.

On Aug 24 a formal settlement has been reached between the 'Vienna Wood' and the families of 14 Filipinos who went missing when the vessel collided with their fishing boat on June 27 off Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. The meeting between the two camps started with the finalization of pending issues concerning the settlement of the civil case. Lawyers of the two camps came to a final agreement, which they shared to PCG chief Admiral George Ursabia and other Coast Guard officials as formal witnesses on the side of the government. Nomikos Transworld Maritime, the owner of the vessel, increased the amount of the compensation to the families of the missing Filipinos and to the Irma Fishing and Trading Corporation, the owner of the fishing boat 'Liberty 5'. Initially, the kin of the 14 missing fishermen and two other passengers were set to receive compensations amounting to P1 million each. On the other hand, the Irma Fishing and Trading Corporation was set to receive a settlement amount of P40 million from MV Vienna Wood to cover the cost of the fishing vessel. The lawyers decided not to disclose the exact settlement amount, but said that the amount was highly acceptable to the victims. The PCG will continue to pursue the criminal case filed against the 'Vienna Wood' and will respect the final decision of the court. Criminal complaints had been lodged against the shipping company, the master, and the officers of the vessel. A hold departure order was also issued against the crew to ensure that bulk carrier will remain in the Philippines' custody.

The Philippine Coast Guard commandant Admiral George Ursabia on Aug 20 announced that the families of the 14 Filipinos onboard the f/v 'Liberty 5', who went missing after the collision in June, were set to receive compensation after the collision with the 'Vienna Wood'. The stakeholders of the two vessels would hold a formal settlement on the damages brought by the maritime incident in the vicinity waters off Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. The PCG chief noted that the kin of the 12 missing Filipino fishermen and two other passengers of the 'Liberty 5' would receive compensations amounting to P1 million each from the 'Vienna Wood' which remained anchored off Batangas.