Peña said their BRP Rizal, while traversing some 25 nautical miles south of Marie Louise Bank of the West Philippine Sea for its routine patrol mission, lost control and rammed through a Chinese fishing fleet which in included a mother ship and 35 motorized dinghies. Right after the accident, the mother ship fled and cut off lines to the smaller boats being towed.
In a statement, Navforwest said, "Despite evasive maneuvers to prevent the collision, PS-74 still accidentally hit the last dinghy. At that moment, the crew of the fishing vessel cut off their towing line, leaving behind 24 dinghies that got entangled with PS-74."
