Marina grounds passenger vessel

CEBU, Philippines - The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA-7) has prevented the MV Georich of George and Peter Lines from sailing while investigation is being conducted into the recent incident where 465 passengers were stranded off the vicinity of Apo Island in Negros Oriental.

One of the passengers on board has formally filed a complaint against GP Lines before MARINA yesterday morning demanding the Maritime authority to declare MV Georich as “unworthy for any further voyage or until it can be properly certified otherwise.”

GP Lines on the other hand filed its own petition before MARINA to lift the suspension of the ship’s passenger safety certificate, which they need to operate again. GP Lines management expects the suspension to be lifted soon and assured the public that the company’s main concern remains to deliver public service in the most satisfactory way.

MARINA-7 inspector Martin Mordon said that as a standard operating procedure, they suspended the passengers safety certificate of MV Georich, which happens to all passenger vessels that experience trouble while en route.

An initial inspection was also conducted on Sunday to examine and verify reports of what have gone wrong with the ship’s engine and how the company handled the situation.

Based on initial inspection, the result is satisfactory and the ship is now in good condition after the repair, said Martin.

The vessel has conducted and passed the sea trial and is just awaiting the decision of MARINA on when will they be allowed to operate again.

Martin said that they could not lift the suspension yet until re-investigation is complete. Inspectors are scheduled to visit Dumaguete City where the ship is currently docked for thorough inspection.

MV Georich experienced a malfunction in its engine while on its journey to Cebu via Dumaguete on Saturday evening.

Barely an hour before it supposedly reach Dumaguete, crew and engineer observed that some parts of the main engine had stopped functioning accordingly which required replacements of spare parts.

While repairs were ongoing on board and for safety purposes, the ship has asked assistance from the nearest Coast Guard station to tow them to Dumaguete port.

From Dumaguete port, passengers bound for Cebu were transported by bus and were refunded of the full worth of their ticket from Dumaguete to Cebu.

GP Lines Port Captain Gerry Enjambre said that what happened was only an accident they did not expect. He said this is the first major trouble experienced by this ship from the last few years until now.

Port Engineer Josue Mugot added that they are inspecting their ships every week and contrary to what Antiquina is alleging, they know very well the concept of preventive maintenance and they are doing it to all their ships.

Mugot said that they just await the decision of MARINA and is ready to serve the public again once the suspension is lifted.— Jessica Ann R. Pareja/WAB   (FREEMAN NEWS)