Divers fail to locate wreck of Catalyn-B

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday said strong waves, unclear waters and a malfunctioning Global Positioning System (GPS) made it difficult for divers to locate the wreck of M/V Catalyn-B.

PCG spokesman Lt. Commander Arman Balilo said the divers returned empty-handed and with limited progress after they failed to find the location of the 79-gross-ton passenger vessel that sits at 221 feet below sea level.

“I was informed that the divers managed to touch the bottom, they were able to reach the seabed but they did not find the wreckage because the PhilTech divers’ portable GPS malfunctioned,” he said.

Balilo said the divers also had to contend with strong waves and unclear waters.

They also did not find the nylon rope that was attached to the M/V Catalyn-B, which would have led them to the vessel, he added.

The other day, the PCG had to cancel its retrieval operation when the buoy marking the wreck’s location was stolen.

As of yesterday afternoon, the PCG had not discussed its next course of action, according to Balilo.

“We would have to wait for the PhilTech divers, headed by Alex Santos, to return to the PCG headquarters. We would have to hear his recommendation to PCG-National Capital Region-Central Luzon district commander Commodore Luis Tuason Jr.,” he said.

BRP Pampanga, the PCG vessel that carried the divers, was expected to return to the PCG headquarters at around 7 p.m. yesterday.

Balilo said the PCG would not call off its search and retrieval operations until it is certain that there are no more bodies in the sunken ferry.

“The bottom line is that we would complete searching the spaces in the ship. If there are no more bodies then we would call off the retrieval,” he said.

According to PCG records, 25 bodies have been recovered, while there are 46 survivors in the sea tragedy and two remain missing.

The 79-gross-ton M/V Catalyn-B collided with the steel-hulled, 369-gross-ton F/B Anatalia last Dec. 24 about 2.8 nautical miles off Limbones Island in Cavite.