MANILA – An oil tanker registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands was suspected to have been involved in an “accidental collision” with a Philippine boat in the South China Sea that killed three fishermen, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday.

PCG spokesman Armando Balilo said the incident was under investigation, but that coast guard monitoring pointed to the tanker carrying the name Pacific Anna, registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands, as the likely vessel that collided with the fishing boat.

The coast guard said in a statement that the Philippine boat “failed to detect” the approaching foreign vessel because of poor weather, resulting in a collision that caused the boat to capsize. Among those who died was the captain.

The coast guard said it would contact the Pacific Anna, which according to Eikon data is on its way to Singapore.

The incident occurred on Monday while the boats were in waters 157km north-west of the disputed Scarborough Shoal, it said in a statement. Eleven crew members survived after the boat sank.

Tensions around those waters recently flared up after the Philippines said it removed a 300m-long ball-buoy barrier installed by China’s coast guard near the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing spot and one of Asia’s most contested maritime features.

The strategic shoal, named after a British cargo vessel that ran aground on the atoll in the 18th century, was seized in 2012 by China, which has maintained a constant presence of coast guard and fishing trawlers there ever since.

China has rejected the Philippine version of events over the barrier, while the United States has weighed in with support for Manila and vowed to honour its treaty commitments to defend its treaty ally if attacked. REUTERS