24 July 2010 - The Philippine Embassy in Malaysia reported that eight crew members of a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel which caught fire 15 nautical miles from Port Dickson, Negeria Sembilan state, Malaysia, were rescued by a passing cruise ship last July 15.
The crew aboad the FV Jiang Sheng consisted of a Taiwanese captain, a Taiwanese chief engineer, and six Filipino crew and fishermen namely Alex Lastimoza, Dave Labrador, Joelan Ronas, Armando Espiritu, Jeffrey del Campo, and Hajie Tolentino. The 700-ton, 56-meter long and nine-meter wide vessel was on its way back to Singapore after a fishing trip in Mauritius when it encountered engine problems while passing through the Strait of Malacca at the crack of dawn.A fire then broke out in the engine room at around 7 a.m., forcing Captain Choio Ching Yuan to send a distress call and order the crew to abandon ship.
They boarded three life rafts and waited for rescue. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency dispatched two rescue boats to the scene.
Meanwhile, the crew was rescued at around 9 a.m. by the luxury cruise liner Star Virgo, which was on its way to Port Klang from Singapore. They were brought to the Star Cruises Terminal in Port Klang for medical attention. Except for a few bruises, the crew did not sustain any serious injury.
The fishing vessel caught tuna and blue marlin by means of heavy duty, mechanized fishing hooks. Its cargo hold had a capacity of 100 tons. The crew used to offload their catch to bigger cargo ships, which bring this to Japanese and Taiwanese fish markets.
The Malaysian maritime authorities plan to tow the stricken vessel to a safer area to ensure it did not pose any danger to passing ships in what is the world's busiest shipping route. The insurance company refused to tow and salvage it because only its hull and engine are insured.
Embassy representatives met the Filipino crew at Hotel Embassy in Port Klang, where they are temporarily staying.
The Embassy advised them that they will probably be sent home immediately after they give their statement on the incident to Malaysian maritime authorities. They were also advised how to claim their unpaid salaries and monetary damages for the personal belongings they lost in the vessel.
