Philippines to help France locate freighter suspected in collision

The Philippines will help France locate a Filipino-flagged freighter suspected of causing a collision that killed five French fishermen off southern England last month, a government spokesman said Friday. ''In the interest of justice, the Philippine government is willing to help in the search for a locally-owned freighter being linked to the sea collision,'' said Ignacio Bunye, a spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. ''But let us practice due process and not gunboat diplomacy,'' he added in a statement. ''All investigations must be based on facts and the rule of evidence.'' The freighter, Seattle Trader, is being blamed for sinking the French trawler Bugaled Breizh in waters off southern England on January 15, killing the boat's five crew members. Authorities in France have issued an international warrant to allow them to take their inquiry to foreign ports to hunt down those responsible, who face five years in prison if found guilty of manslaughter. According to an underwater examination of the Bugaled Breizh, the trawler could have been struck by a large and powerful ship, probably a freighter. French investigators added that the Seattle Trader, a 39,000-ton vessel owned by Manila-based company Victoria Ship Management, was tracked ''extremely closely'' along with several other ships following the trawler's sinking.