Salvaging of grounded ship off Dumaguete coast still unsure

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  – A month has passed since the cargo ship M/V Ever Transport III ran aground off the coast of Calindagan in Dumaguete City last December 17, at the height of tropical storm Sendong, but there is no word yet until now on when it will be salvaged.

Public concern, despite reassurances from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), has surfaced anew over the possible effects on the marine environment and potential risks to mariners and the public with the Ever Transport III still not being retrieved from its current location, according to a PNA report.

The Steel Ray Salvaging Services has won the bid over another contender, the Uni-Orient Pearl Ventures, Inc., to salvage the grounded cargo ship, but its application for a permit from the PCG national headquarters has yet to be approved, Lt. Commander Agapito Bibat, chief of the PCG station in this city, said on Wednesday.

Bibat said the application for a permit to salvage is now sitting at the desk of the PCG Commandant at the central office for signature. Without such permit, the Steel Ray Salvaging Services could not start its operations to refloat and tow the cargo ship away.

The vessel, with a gross tonnage of 494.87 and owned by Zamboanga City-based Kheri Lines, Inc., listed on its port side. With almost half of it submerged in water at high tide, the ship has reportedly not shown signs of being dislodged from its original position since it ran aground last month, as based on GPS plotting, said Bibat.

Bibat reiterated his assurance that close and continuous monitoring has been conducted to avoid a possible oil leakage from the vessel, which could still contain more than 7,000 liters of diesel fuel that remained unaccounted for even after thousands of liters more of diesel fuel and lube oil were retrieved and or siphoned off it last December 30.

Bibat said containment measures, such as anti-oil spill booms, sealing of fuel storage tanks and doors, port holes, cracks, and plugging of breather and filling pipes, are in place to ensure that potential unrecovered fuel would not leak out.

On the early morning of December 17, as tropical storm Sendong unleashed its fury in Dumaguete and other parts of Negros Oriental, the Ever Transport III left the city port to seek shelter elsewhere after big waves slammed it against the pier, thus putting the vessel and its crew and passengers in danger.

Witnesses said they noticed the ship navigating closely to shore before it hit shallow waters and ran aground. At least 34 crew members and passengers were rescued and brought safely to dry land.

Bibat meanwhile said he was not yet aware of whether an investigation is now underway on the circumstances behind the grounding of the ship, skippered by Capt. Romeo Cuevas.

Kheri Lines and Cuevas have already filed a marine protest with the Maritime Industry Authority, the primary agency tasked to investigate marine-related incidents, among other functions. (FREEMAN)