EDITORIAL – Ambiguous DOTC order

The Department of Transportation and Communication, as if struck by an afterthought that usually results from a haphazard undertaking, has hurriedly clarified a Marina order that two ships of Sulpicio Lines are now allowed to sail.

According to the DOTC, the lead agency to which the Marina belongs, the order allowing two Sulpicio ships to sail limits them to take on only cargo. As of now, the two ships cannot carry any passengers.

There is no doubt that the tragedy that struck the Princess of the Stars, and for which the entire Sulpicio fleet was grounded, was a regretable accident that should not have happened. But as a marine inquiry has found out, the accident was largely caused by human error.

The inquiry said the ship captain should have exercised more diligence and prudence in assessing the weather situation unfolding before him instead of taking great liberies with the lives of people, a mistake that eventually proved too costly for the entire country.

So, while we fully agree with the grounding as a prudent thing to do under the circumstances, we do not subscribe to it being used as a smokescreen to divert attention away from so many other shortcomings being committed elsewhere, especially on the side of government.

A grounding is a means to allow rigorous checks on a vessel or vessels in the aftermath of accidents. But it is by no means any better than the normal checks the concerned agencies are supposed to undertake on all vessels at any time year after year.

Had no accident happened, there would have been no grounding, meaning the regular checks would have sufficed, including those on vessels affected by the grounding order. So why the deliberate slowness? And why the selectiveness?

If a vessel is cleared to sail, then that presupposes its seaworthiness, which cannot be ambiguous to mean two things. As it is, the clarification seems to suggest that the ship is fit to sail only if it has just cargo on board. Hello? What is the DOTC saying?

If a ship is fit to sail, then it must be fit to sail regardless of whether it has cargo or passengers on board. To be ambiguous about it is to suggest the DOTC does not know what it is doing and is just going through the motions of exercising an authority it does not deserve.