MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine coast guard was searching Sunday for a domestic cargo ship with 17 crewmen that disappeared after encountering big waves and reporting engine trouble.

Crewmen aboard the 498-ton SF Freighter radioed the ship's owner, Seaford Shipping, on Saturday to report the problems but shortly after all contact was lost, coast guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said.

The owner launched an initial search near the ship's last known location off the coast of Marinduque province and contacted the coast guard, Tamayo said.

A coast guard plane spotted a lone ship Sunday in waters off Marinduque, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Manila, but bad weather forced the plane to turn back before it could make an identification, he said. Another attempt would be made when the weather clears.

Passing ships and coastal communities have been told to be on the look out for the steel-hulled ship, which was en route to Manila from central Cebu province carrying a cargo of steel bars when it went missing.

Gusty wind and waves, meanwhile, pulled up the anchor of a cargo barge in Manila Bay late Saturday, causing the wayward vessel to ram and damage five unoccupied huts and eight fishing boats in a coastal village in suburban Navotas city, Tamayo said. No injuries were reported.

A tropical depression, which has enhanced monsoon rains and winds in northern and central regions, moved away from the country Sunday. Ships have been warned to expect rough seas.

Source: http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/world/article/597531--philippines-searches-for-missing-cargo-ship