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IN the
aftermath of the sinking of MV Princess of Stars over
the weekend, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
has grounded all the remaining roll-on/roll-off
passenger vessels (Ropax) of Sulpicio Lines Inc.(SLI) to
check their seaworthiness.
Marina,
however, has spared Sulpicio’s freighter ships from
grounding as this may cause imbalance in the
distribution of commodity goods.
Marina
administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. told reporters Monday
that immediately after the sinking of the vessel
Saturday, he had verbally ordered the grounding of all
the Sulpicio vessels.
Marina,
however, had to revise such order to exclude the
grounding of freighter vessels.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza reported to
President Arroyo at the predawn National Disaster
Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting in Malacańang that
he has ordered Marina to implement the directive.
He said
he is also organizing the Board of Marine Inquiry to
“formally conduct an investigation on what really
happened on the ship.”
Upon the
recommendation of Environment Secretary Lito Atienza,
the government will form Task Force Princess of the
Stars to focus on rescue efforts, to be led by the DOTC
and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and to operate
under the NDCC.
Press
Secretary Jesus Dureza said in a statement from
Washington DC, where President Arroyo is conducting a
visit, that the US government has deployed a US Navy
ship to the general area where the MV Princess of the
Stars capsized to help in search and rescue operations.
Dureza,
received the information from US Ambassador Kristie
Kenney who is also in Washington DC for Mrs. Arroyo’s
visit.
Mendoza
said the PCG is preparing for a possible oil spill, as
the SLI vessel reportedly contains 200,000 liters of
oil.
SLI
executive vice president Edgar Go, who attended the NDCC
meeting, said his company has tapped a salvaging company
to begin extricating the ship beginning that day.
Go also
explained that the MV Princess of the Stars, which
passed all maritime safety requirements and obtained all
the necessary certification, “was seaworthy” when it
left the port of Manila on Friday evening.
He
expressed SLI’s commitment to compensate the victims.
The
grounding of SLI boats will pave the way for authorities
to conduct their audit inspections of all the vessels.
Suazo said they want to determine if there are loopholes
in the seaworthiness of the vessels; and to check if the
ship has all the necessary requirements and certificates
from Marina to prevent accidents in the future.
Grounding is the standard procedure on most vessels
whenever there is a sea mishap.
The
order took effect on Monday morning, but the ships en
route to other destinations will have to continue their
voyage until their next port of entry. All of the
vessels will have to be grounded either in Manila or in
Cebu, he said.
At the
moment, Sulpicio has 10 remaining Ropax vessels and
seven freighter ships of varying sizes.
“It will
take two to three days to audit each vessel and they can
only set sail after I have told them to do so,” he said.
“I have
asked other shipping lines to accept the passengers of
Sulpicio so there will be no disruptions in their
travel,” Suazo said.
There
was a shortage of freighter vessels in the country last
year after four vessels of Aboitiz-owned SuperFerry were
sold, prompting Marina to extend indefinitely the
special permit of a foreign-owned liner.
Suazo,
however, clarified that these freighter vessels will
eventually be grounded for audit inspections.
Sally
Buaron, Sulpicio’s vice president for passage, said they
have not received the Marina grounding order yet but
will comply with the authorities when told to do so.
“We are
still issuing tickets because we still have not gotten
any word from DOTC (Department of Transportation and
Communications) about the grounding,” Buaron said.
On
Saturday, Sulpicio’s flagship vessel MV Princess of the
Stars sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon after it ran
aground due to strong winds and waves caused by typhoon
Frank.
Most of
its nearly 800 passengers are still missing. (With Mia
Gonzalez) |
