Seawater enters vessel beached off Mindoro

MANILA, Philippines — A cargo vessel that has run aground in the waters off Occidental Mindoro is reportedly unable to leave its position as it may sink once it sails into a deeper portion of the sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.

Arnie Alberto, skipper of motor vessel Joegie 5, said that seawater had seeped into the vessel, which may cause it to capsize once it resumes sailing.

The Joegie 5 is loaded with 28,020 bags of cement and had 15,148 liters of diesel in its fuel tank when it drifted in the shallow waters off Calavati Point in Paluan town at around 2 a.m. on Friday.

Alberto told the PCG that during the early hours of Sept. 1, he and his 13 crewmembers were sailing toward Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro from Bauan, Batangas when big waves and strong winds battered the vessel.

When high tide occurred at around 4 a.m., Alberto said they were able to maneuver the vessel away from its position, but they saw that seawater had entered the ship.

He said he decided to return the vessel to the shallow area to allow it to sit on the rocks.

Alberto said they dropped anchor in the area to prevent the Joegie 5 from drifting toward deeper waters.

The PCG said there were no signs of an oil spill when the crewmembers left the Joegie 5. It said monitoring would continue.

Personnel of the PCG-Mamburao substation deferred the inspection of the Joegie 5 due to rough sea condition in the area.