Hundreds stranded by grounded ships

CEBU, Philippines - As the Cebuanos celebrated the eve of Sinulog yesterday, the trips of 30 passenger and roll-on/roll-off vessels in Cebu City were cancelled due to bad weather, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Based on the latest record of Coast Guard District Central Visayas, as of 5 p.m. yesterday there were 799 passengers affected by tropical depression Agaton. Central and the rest of Eastern Visayas experienced cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains.

Five trips from Cebu City bound to Ormoc City were cancelled. Vessels from Cebu City such as M/V Rosalia 3, M/V Fiji 2 and M/V Lapu-Lapu Ferry 8 going Leyte were also cancelled.

The trip of M/V St. Leo the Great to Nasipit with 624 passengers from Cebu City was also cancelled.

Cancellation were also implemented for the vessels from Camotes such as MBCA Esperanza 8, MBCA Jun Mar 2, M/V Mika Mari I, M/V Mika Mari 5 and M/V Mika Mari 3 going to Ormoc and Danao.

MBCA Super SM for Cadiz, Negros Occidental and MBCA Deep Sea Metro 1 bound to Hagnaya from Bantayan were also included.

In Northern Cebu, the same thing happened to the five vessels from Hagnaya bound to Sta. Fe, as with the M/V Super Shuttle Ferry 19 from Polambato, Bogo City going to Cawayan, Masbate.

From the substation in Tangil, Dumanjug, trips of M/V Leonor 2, 3, 5, M/V Island Roro I and LCT San Juan de Bautista bound to Negros Oriental were cancelled.

However, all trips from the substations in Tabuelan, Toledo and Bato were resumed. (FREEMAN)