4 sea marshals to receive citations from IMO

MANILA, Philippines - Four sea marshals who showed bravery as they assisted the passengers of M/V SuperFerry 9 that sank off the Zamboanga Peninsula last year, will receive commendations from the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) in November.

Commodore Luis Tuason Jr., Philippine Coast Guard-National Capital Region (PCG-NCR) district commander, identified the four as Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Samuel Boniol, Navy Petty Officer Third Class Anifer Bucao, and Seaman First Class Oliver Cogo and SPO3 Loreto Justo of the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group.

Tuason, who also supervises Task Force Sea Marshal, said they will receive the 2010 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea on Nov. 24 at the IMO headquarters in London.

The four sea marshals were on board M/V SuperFerry9 when it capsized off the Zamboanga Peninsula in the early morning of Sept. 6 last year.

The IMO recognized the sea marshals’ actions and bravery during the actual evacuation, disembarkation and rescue of the passengers and crewmembers of the ill-fated vessel.

Investigation showed that M/V SuperFerry 9, owned by Aboitiz Transport Services Corp., left General Santos on Sept. 5, 2009 for a two-day voyage to Iloilo. It was expected to arrive at the Iloilo port at around 1 p.m. the following day.

However, at around 3:30 a.m. of Sept. 6, the vessel tilted 25 degrees toward its starboard side. The ship’s captain, Jose Yap, made an “abandon ship” call, but some of the passengers opted to wait for the sun to shine before jumping into the water, thinking this would make it easier for search and rescue vessels to see and rescue them. 

The ship sank at around 9:30 a.m. or six hours after the passengers were told to abandon it. More than 900 people survived while 10 were confirmed dead.

The four sea marshals assisted the passengers in wearing their life vests and advised them to stay calm while the life rafts were being lowered into the water.

They, along with Yap, were the last to jump into the water as the ship began to sink.

It was PCG commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, when he was still a captain, who formed Task Force Sea Marshal in response to threats to passenger ships.

It was created after the bombing of M/V SuperFerry 14 on Feb. 27, 2004, which left 116 people dead.