Two crewmen died while three more are missing after foreign vessels collided off the coast of the Philippines on Friday.

The 140-metre dredger MV Hong Hai 189 and the 183-metre chemical petrol tanker MT Petite Souer crashed into each other in the waters between Corregidor island and Mariveles province in Bataan on April 28.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said a Chinese seaman and a Filipino safety officer aboard the dredger died, while three more crew of the same vessel were still missing.

All passengers on the undamaged Petite Soeur were safe. Its captain has been detained by the PCG.

The Sierra Leone-flagged MV Hong Hai's last port call was at Botolan town in Zambales province, while the Petite Souer carrying the Marshall Island flag last berthed in Mariveles.

PCG Spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo told local media: 'There was no bad weather that night. We are baffled because the sea was so spacious but a collision still occurred.

'Right now, we can't say who is at fault. We are still at the rescue phase. We will investigate who is in the right are in the traffic separation scheme, what manoeuvres they employed, what the lookouts were doing, and which vessel had the right of way along the route.

'As of now, there are no sightings of any oil spill, but we have deployed an oil spill response team in case there is any indication of a leak so we can respond quickly.'

A salvage vessel has been dispatched to tow the sunken Hong Hai from the water, the Coast Guard said.