This pertains to the news that have circulated in social media and other media platforms regarding the vessel Yosemite Trader which had allegedly reached the Port of Subic on January 9, 2024.
Yosemite Trader, an oil products tanker that is registered in the United States, applied for Entry Clearance at the Seaport Department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority on January 2, 2024, through its ship agent Parsh Marine Philippines, Inc. The vessel carried 5million gallons of F-76 which is a type of military fuel for ships that are equipped with the latest turbine engines. The cargo was to be transferred from a US military facility at Red Hill, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to the Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corporation, a commercial fuel storage facility in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
In the morning of the scheduled arrival however, ship agent Parsh Marine requested for the cancellation of the vessel’s Entry Clearance, accordingly due to the absence of a “diplomatic clearance” from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
It is clear therefore that Yosemite Trader has not entered the waters of Subic Bay, and was not able to discharge its cargo at the storage facility as earlier reported.
