A tug was deliberately run aground by her crew after she suffered a hull breach resulting in flooding just off the coast of Zambales province in the northern Philippines on Friday, August 14.
The locally-registered SL Sual 1 was at anchor off Botolan municipality when her crew discovered that her engine room had become flooded with seawater due to a hull breach.
The crew then decided to ground the tug to prevent further damage to the vessel and thus reduce the risk of sinking.
Despite rough sea conditions in the area, all nine of SL Sual 1's crew were later safely evacuated from the stranded tug by personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard and disaster response teams as well as some local fishermen.
The coast guard said that none of the crew suffered injuries and that the grounded tug had not leaked any oil since the incident occurred.
Efforts are now focused on the drafting of a salvage plan to remove the vessel from the area.