MANILA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese fishing vessel ferrying thousand pieces of logs from Australia en route to China docked at an eastern Philippine port to avoid trailing the path of tropical storm Lupit, a Navy spokesman said Sunday.

    The Panamanian-registered vessel Bao-feing, with 24 Chinese crew members, approached the vicinity of Panukulan town in eastern Quezon province Sunday morning after sending an emergency call, Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

    Navy officials initially thought the vessel illegally entered the Philippine waters but later cleared it after inspection. It would sail off on Monday, Arevalo said.

    Lupit, the third tropical storm threatening the Philippine archipelago in a month, veered itself off the northern Luzon island to move further north on Sunday. Sandwiched between two high pressure areas, the storm has been stalled near the northeastern Philippines for almost a week.