Three vessels from China arrived in Negros Oriental on Tuesday morning. the Philippine Coast Guard Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday.

The PCG said these are a tugboat and two cargo barges.

"Their last port call was in China, but the port of origin is Belize. They arrived at the port of Dumaguete yesterday, Feb. 4, 2020 at around 11 am," PCG said.

The PCG said the vessels did not berth at the port and their crew members did not leave the vessel since they arrived Tuesday.

"They did not berth because their purpose at the port is anchorage only. The crew members did not go down the port since yesterday. All of them stay inside the vessels," said PCG.

The PCG said upon anchorage the crew of the vessels started "the process of conversion of the vessels from foreign to domestic" which involved the Bureau of Customs and Marina (Maritime Industry Authority).

"Before the mandatory inspection was done this afternoon around 1pm the Bureau of Quarantine, BOC and PCG met to make sure that heightened safety measure will be implemented properly," it stated.

"We are waiting for the result of the mandatory inspection of the vessels this afternoon," it added.

The PCG said if the process of conversation between the vessel and the Port of Dumaguete with BOC and Marina become sucessful the vessels will then proceed to their next port call.

"We are still waiting for further information on where is there next port call and when the process of conversation is expected to finish," the PCG noted. Robina Asido/DMS