CEBU, Philippines - Two ships that were about to enter the Mactan Channel collided near the Lawis Ledge off the coast of Talisay City early yesterday morning resulting to damage to one of the two vessels.
The incident also led several fishermen from Talisay City and nearby areas to recover boxes of milk that were thrown overboard.
The vessels were identified as MV SuperFerry 2 that was headed to Cebu from Nasipit, Agusan del Norte and MV General Romulo, a cargo ship coming from Cagayan de Oro City and also headed to the port of Cebu.
Commander Rolando Punzalan, Cebu Station Chief of the Philippine Coast Guard, said that MV SuperFerry 2, which has a gross tonnage of 11,504.16 tried to overtake the smaller cargo vessel and hit the starboard side (left side) of MV General Romulo.
Witnesses said that the cargo vessel, which has a gross tonnage of 4,028, blew its horn to warn the passenger vessel, but this did not prevent the accident.
Capt. Bonifacio Tan, skipper of MV General Romulo, immediately ordered his crew to drop anchor so that they could check on the damage.
MV SuperFerry 2 only had scratches on its port side (right side).
A 20-foot container van that was on board the cargo vessel was punctured and several boxes of milk fell into the sea.
Cdr. Punzalan told The Freeman that the crew of the cargo vessel sent a radio message around 5:40 a.m. to inform them of the incident.
The Coast Guard sent a boat to check the incident and to also offer assistance to the vessels if needed.
Fortunately, none of the 520 passengers and 116 crew of MV SuperFerry 2 and 22 crew members of MV General Romulo were harmed.
The crew of MV SuperFerry 2, after checking for damage to their vessel, decided to continue with their voyage and safely docked at the Cebu International Port at around 7:30 a.m.
Punzalan told The FREEMAN that a vessel involved in a mishap can continue with its voyage as long as it is sure that others that are part of the incident are safe.
The Cebu Station Chief said that when he went to MV Romulo, he noticed that the ship was not in danger. He said that two containers, a 20-footer and a 40-footer, sustained the brunt of the impact,
The PCG men, who rushed to the scene, also reported that there was no oil slick from the ship.
Delayed
MV SuperFerry 2, which was scheduled to depart for Manila at around 9 a.m., was not, however allowed to leave port immediately.
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) held the vessel to conduct a standard check for see worthiness.
The vessel was allowed to leave at 1:15 p.m. after the MARINA issued a certificate of sea worthiness.
Punzalan reminded the ship’s captain to submit his marine protest before tomorrow morning as ships involved in any incident are required by law to submit such within 24 hours.
The marine protest contains a detailed account and the circumstances regarding the incident. This is submitted by the captains or the masters of the vessels involved.
The marine protest will also be the basis or evidence for any protests against any liability of the owner to the ship.
After the submission of the marine protests, the probe will be conducted by the Special Maritime Board of Inquiry (SMBI).
SMBI will be composed of the 2nd Coast Guard District commander, who will act as the chairman of the board, together with the Cebu chief harbor pilot, a PCG lawyer, a retired marine engineer, and a master mariner.
MV General Romulo has submitted its marine protest to the PCG yesterday afternoon.
If MV SuperFerry 2 fails to submit its marine protest within the specified 24-hour period, its captain will face an administrative case.
The owners of the two vessels, NMC Container Lines, Inc. and Magsaysay Transport and Logistics for MV General Romulo and Negros Navigation – Aboitiz Transport System (NN-ATS) which owns SuperFerry 2 did not release statement as of press time regarding the incident.
Cheap milk
Residents of Talisay City had a chance to buy cheap milk yesterday from the fishermen, who recovered the products that fell into the sea.
Tanker barangay captain Perla Cabanes said that the milk products were sold at P50 each, which made them very saleable as these are priced at P93 in the grocery stores.
She also said that fishers reportedly saw the milk floating in the sea after the collision. And since these were sealed in plastic, the contents inside were not soaked by the seawater, hence it was easy to sell it to the people, she said. — with Liv Campo/NLQ (FREEMAN)