‘Sunken ferry should have been retired’

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines – The sunken M/V Maharlika 2 should have been retired five years ago as it was well past its serviceable life of 25 years, an official of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) bared yesterday.

MARINA director for Caraga region Emmanuel Carpio said that Maharlika 2 was built in 1984 in Mariveles, Bataan. Operations of the 30-year-old ship should have been terminated in 2009 “because serving that long affects seaworthiness, thus compromising safety.”

M/V Maharlika 2 sank off the coast of Southern Leyte Saturday evening. A total of eight passengers perished in the maritime mishap that occurred six nautical miles off Panaon Island in Southern Leyte. The ferry was carrying.

“Seaworthiness of ships, or any means or mode of transportation, also depends on the kind of maintenance it gets. And since it is costly – I think the kind of ro-ro (roll on-roll off) vessel like Maharlika 2 if bought brand new will now cost around P100 million – some passenger vessel operators really had to make the most out of its usefulness before they will be replaced by new or refurbished vessel,” Carpio explained.

“This is a reality in Philippine maritime setting as of now, that’s why we in MARINA see to it that passenger and cargo vessels are checked regularly so as not to compromise safety of passengers,” he added.

The other day, Carpio suspended the operation of M/V Maharlika 4 because the ship was found to have major deficiencies.

“These are expired license of the chief marine engineer, heavy corrosion of the ship’s watertight bulkheads, incomplete checklist of machineries maintenance system and non-functioning fire alarm system and deflection system,” he said.

Carpio noted that Maharlika 2 and Maharlika 4 are owned by the government, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Registration records of the Maharlika 2 showed that in 1995, it was owned by the DPWH and the ship was turned over to the DOTC in the following years.

“In 1995, DPWH turned over ownership, supervision and management of these passenger vessels to DOTC. – With Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude