PCG: Damage study on Pagasa Reef 1 grounding completed

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday said the study assessing possible damage to Pagasa Reef 1 following the grounding of a Chinese vessel last June has been completed.

In a news forum, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Commodore Jay Tarriela, noted that the evaluation was conducted by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), and that they have already finalized the results of the study.

“Since they are the ones who did the study, they should be the ones to share with the media and to explain what the significant findings they did out of that survey,” he added.

Tarriela noted that the results will first be submitted to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) before any decisions are made on possible actions or public disclosure.

“And from there, I think that's the time we can come up with actions and whether it will be publicized and shared with the media,” Tarriela said.

The incident occurred on June 7, when the PCG reported that a suspected Chinese maritime militia vessel, bearing bow number 16838, ran aground at Pagasa Reef 1, located roughly one nautical mile from Pagasa Island.

Initial assessments indicated that the vessel may have been forced into the shallow waters due to rough sea conditions, with wave heights between two and three meters and strong winds prevailing at the time.

Further updates on the study's findings and the government's next steps are expected following the NTF-WPS review.