Nation

Maritime website says RORO ships unsafe

Louis Bacani - The Philippine Star

June 18, 2013 | 11:18am

MANILA, Philippines - A website providing information on various issues in the maritime industry cited several reasons why the roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships, such as the M/V Lady of Mt. Carmel that capsized in waters off Masbate last week, are allegedly unsafe to work on.

The website Maritime Insights said a Ro-Ro vessel is one of the most sought after cargo ships to work on, providing both cargo and passengers carrying capabilities and reaching ports more frequently

"The flexibility, speed and the shipâ€™s functionality to blend with other transportation modes has made it popular among seafarers," said an article posted on the website last December 2011.

But the article, written by "experienced mariner" Karan Chopra, said there are things that make Ro-Ro ships "a bit dangerous to work on" as compared to other ships.

"Ro-ro ships have been criticized for a number of reasons, mainly because of one single reason â€“ safety of the ship," the article said.

"Safety being the primary concern of ship owner, operator, and seafarer, lately ro-ro ship has become less famous to work on," it added.

The article cited eight reasons that make the Ro-Ro ship allegedly unsafe to work on:

1. The Problem of Stability

2. Low Freeboard

3. Cargo Access Door

4. Lack of Bulkheads

5. Location of Life Saving Appliances (LSA)

6. Weather condition

7. Cargo stowage

8. Cargo Loading

In a television interview on Tuesday morning, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Maximo Mejia Jr. said the Philippines is using Ro-Ro ships since they are the "best" floating or moving links that serve as bridges in the archipelago.

"The Ro-Ro ship is very popular because it's a very efficient means of transport. When we decided that we should build our nautical highway, that's because it is too expensive to build fixed links, meaning bridges, between our islands," Mejia said.

"It's the most efficient [floating or moving link]," he added.

Mejia also said the Ro-Ro ships are "very tricky or challenging" to operate. But despite the alleged dangers of the ship, he said "for the most part" it is "safe" to operate the vessel as far as accidents statistics are concerned.

"We can improve it and this has been shown worldwide," the Marina chief said.

Mejia also assured the public that Marina inspects the seaworthiness of the Ro-Ro vessels every year. The agency also plans to conduct more random inspections as preventive measures.