Search for five more missing passengers of sunken ferry continues
The search for five more missing passengers of the sunken MV Blue Water Princess off the coast of San Francisco, Quezon, continued yesterday despite rough waters and lack of communication lines around the site where the ferry ran aground and sank last Thursday.
Admiral Damian Carlos, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, said no more bodies of passengers were found after three hours’ underwater search and retrieval operations yesterday morning.
“Our divers have already inspected all compartments of the vessel and found no dead bodies. We are coordinating with PDCC (Philippine Disaster Coordinating Council) to reconcile the figures of the survivors, dead and missing passengers,” Carlos said.
He said divers also did not find any trace of an oil leak from the sunken vessel that reportedly carried some 8,000 liters of fuel oil before it sank.
“There is no sign of an oil spill. There was only a small amount of oil sheen that might have come from rolling cargoes aboard the vessel. Still, our Marine Environmental Protection Unit is in the area to continue monitoring,” Carlos added.
The PCG said the five remaining missing passengers are: Afista Abusta, Roda Kita, Aris Gapo, and certain Maila and Analyn.
Eleven fatalities were also identified as chief mate Rodolfo de la Fuente, ordinary seaman Wilgin Perlas, apprentice Daveson de Guzman, and passengers Nicanor and Leonila Arsipe, Gloria Deuda, Jean de Jesus, Cristina Labong, Lourdes Ricafranca, Maribel Mirallo, and Lucena Arrizagada.
Capt. Rodolfo Isonera, Coast Guard Southern Tagalog District Commander, admitted their operations over the weekend were hampered by the bad weather, huge waves and lack of communication lines.
“Our divers had to stop. They could not break in the interior of the ferry because of rough seas and huge waves. It was also raining hard,” Isonera explained.
He said the divers also had a hard time contacting their men in the site because there was no cellphone signal in the area.
Carlos said the Board of Marine Inquiry would not yet convene in the next days to determine the cause and liability of the ship owners and crew.
Vicente Suazo Jr., Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator, said the agency will strictly inspect roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ships like the MV Blue Water Princess.
Suazo said inspection of RoRo ships will start this week even as the
The MV Blue Water Princess which is owned by AC-Joy Express Liner and operated by Blue Magic Ferries, left the
The 61-year-old ship captain, Virgilio Retardo, told investigators that he saw huge waves in their direction so he opted to turn to seek shelter in the coves of the Bondoc peninsula. But when the vessel was only 500 meters away from the coastline, the ship ran aground causing its hull to crack.
He claimed it was “purely accident” and there had been no miscalculation on his part.
Isonera, who is tasked to head the BMI, said they will check if such a decision from Retardo was consistent with maritime rules. – With James Mananghaya,
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