Cargo ship sinks after Davao port collision

DAVAO CITY — A Philippine-registered cargo ship sank in this southern port yesterday after being hit by a larger Singaporean vessel which had mechanical problems, the Coast Guard said.

The 8,533-ton MV Pacific Eagle rammed the MV Dinggalan Bay while docking at this city’s Sasa wharf, Coast Guard commander Rear Adm. Ruben Lista said.

MV Dinggalan slowly sank after taking in water through a hole in its starboard bow caused by the collision at around 6:30 a.m. yesterday, he said. No casualties were reported.

"It has sunk. We can only see the bridge now," Lista said.

Coast Guard personnel have placed "an oil-spill containment boom" in the area where the vessel went down as oil from its submerged fuel tank was leaking, he said.

Lista said a special Board of Marine Inquiry was to be convened immediately to get explanations from the captains of both vessels.

But based on a preliminary investigation, the skipper of the Singaporean ship had acknowledged having problems with his vessel’s steering wheel and engine, the official said.

According to Davao Coast Guard commander Crisalito Agustin, the M/V Dinggalan was already safely docked at Berth 8 since Monday day night when the Eagle maneuvered to dock in Berth 9 yesterday morning but hit the Dinggalan instead.

The 25 crew members of the local ship were able to abandon the vessel before it sank, and were rescued by banca-riding Muslim Badjaos near the area.

MV Dinggalan Bay was carrying a shipment of steel, automobiles and industrial materials when it sank, port officials said.

The Singaporean ship had arrived from the port of Cebu and was said to carry spare and other knock-down parts of vehicles.

Coast Guard officials said both ships regularly dock at Sasa wharf every 15 days.

Agustin said that while an investigation is ongoing, a departure denial was recommended for the mostly Bangladeshi crew of the erring vessel led by captain Ahmed Hashim.

"We have confined the crew and the ship on anchorage and we have asked for a departure denial with the Philippine Ports Authority and the Bureau of Customs for them," Agustin told The STAR.

Alex Villadorez, stevedore at the wharf, said everything was like a typical Tuesday morning as they saw the Pacific Eagle about to dock, when suddenly they heard a loud thud.

And when he looked out to sea, he saw the ill-fated ship sinking fast. "We lost sight of the body of the ship and in just about 10 minutes it was all gone," the pier hand said.

Celia Sartorio, 53, wife of the Dinggalan’s captain Alfredo Sartorio, said they were having coffee in the mess hall of the ship when they felt that they were bumped by a huge object.

"We were not able to get anything of whatever belongings we had inside the ship. There was no time for it," said the captain’s wife who usually accompanies Sartorio during his trips.

Oscar Bibangco, 35, port engineer of Dinggalan, said he had just woken up and was making his way from the bridge part of the ship when the incident happened.

The Coast Guard has tapped the services of the Malayan and Trans Pacific Towage firms to pull out the sunken ship from the wharf, Agustin said. – With Nestor Etolle