Subic tug rescues 11 from stalled yacht off Zambales

Philippine Coast Guard's multi-role response vessel MRRV 4406 arrived in Subic Bay Freeport Sunday morning after picking up the stranded passengers in Cabangan Port. Photo courtesy of Coast Guard Station Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Eleven passengers, including four children, were rescued Sunday morning off the coast of Cabangan, Zambales after their yacht stalled Saturday afternoon on the way back to the Subic Bay Freeport.

The passengers, who were stranded in the sea for more than nine hours, were rescued by the tugboat MT Stanford that was dispatched here by the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation (SALVTUG) on request of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

The location where the MY Fusion was stranded on Saturday night. Photo by Jojo Ng

According to the SBMA, the group left the Subic Bay Yacht Club (SBYC) at around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday on board the luxury sports motor yacht MY Fusion and arrived at the resort-island of Magalawa some 90 kilometers north of Subic by noon time.

The group left the island at 3:00 p.m., but the two engines of the yacht reportedly stalled at 6:00 p.m. about halfway en route to SBYC.

The group sent out SOS messages to relatives and friends, and soon the information reached the SBMA. This prompted Chairman Eisma to ask the help of the Subic Freeport business locator SALVTUG, which sent out two tugboats.

During happier times, the MY Fusion being used by the stranded passengers before the incident on Saturday. Photo by Jojo Ng

At around 9:40 p.m., the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) established contact with the yacht, informing the passengers that the tugboat MT Stanford was on the way to their location.

At around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, MT Stanford finally towed MY Fusion to the Cabangan Port where the passengers disembarked.  Soon, the Coast Guard’s multi-role response vessel MRRV 4406 arrived to take the passengers back to Subic while the grounded yacht was towed back to SBYC.

The passengers safely arrived here at 8:00 a.m. while MT Stanford with MY Fusion in tow reached the Subic harbor at around 11:00 a.m.

The MY Fusion is owned by Wang He of Golden Fortune 101 Ltd. and is currently registered in Hong Kong. The yacht’s fuel tank reportedly leaked as fuel residue clogged the engine’s fuel lines.

Aside from seasickness and vomiting, nobody from MY Fusion was injured during the nine-hour ordeal.