MANILA, Philippines — A ship caught fire in Navotas City after a collision with another vessel in the midst of Tropical Storm “Enteng” and the southwest monsoon, said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday, September 2.
On top of this, the PCG also recorded four other vessels that had accidents in Navotas. The LCT GT Express collided with the MV Kamilla in the Navotas Anchorage Area, causing a fire onboard.
Based on the PCG’s investigation, both ships were initially anchored when the storm hit. However, strong winds swept the LCT GT Express away, causing it to hit the MV Kamilla.
The incident was reported to the PCG at around 7:28 am.
“The PCG tried to deploy a floating asset to rescue the crew but failed to do so due to strong current and unfavorable weather conditions,” the agency told reporters.
Fire onboard the MV Kamilla was reported at around 9:19 am, and the crew reportedly abandoned the ship at 10:50 am.
The 18-member crew was forced to abandon ship, the PCG said.
“All 18 crew onboard were rescued: 17 by MTUG Phil Leyte (now at the Coast Guard Sub-Station Navotas) and one crew rescued at Barangay Sipac-Almacen (brought to Navotas City Hospital for medical treatment),” the PCG said.
4 other distressed vessels
Meanwhile, two vessels, Barge ASC Regine and the MTKR Patriot III, ran aground in the vicinity waters of Barangay Bagumbayan North, Navotas City.
MTUG Cleofe, the sister vessel of the Barge ASC Regine is on standby to extract the latter once the weather eases. The owners of the MTKR Patriot III are working to get a tugboat to get the vessel.
The PCG has advised all the owners of the aforementioned vessels to file a marine protest at the Coast Guard Station in Manila. Such protests are made so that the owners could swear an oath that their losses occurred due to the perils of the sea.
Another vessel, the MTKR EBC Maricel VI, ran aground in the vicinity waters of Barangay San Roque, Navotas City.
"MTUG Ilo-Ilo now on standby for vessel extraction, waiting for sea condition and weather to subside," the PCG said.
The PCG also reported that there was a drifted vessel called the Barge Tambalan, but the ship was already towed back to the Navotas Fish Port.
Enteng has triggered rains and winds across the country after intensifying into a tropical storm on Sunday night. Work and classes have already been suspended in areas hit by the storm.
These are not the only maritime incidents that occured during the height of a tropical cyclone this year. In July, three vessels ran into accidents in Bataan due to Super Typhoon Carina. All three vessels leaked fuel into the Bataan waters, with the PCG still working to siphon the oil out of the sumberged MTKR Terranova, which had around 1.4 million liters of oil inside it when it sank.