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AS
senators demanded the resignation of Maritime Industry
Authority (Marina) Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. and
the prosecution of the owners of M/V Princess of the
Stars ferry that sank off Romblon on Saturday at the
height of a killer typhoon, maritime probers and the
shipping lines held off on fixing the blame on any
factor or party on Monday.
The
calls for culpability and a full inquiry—both by
maritime probers and the Senate—were made by Senate
President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Minority Leader
Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Sens. Rodolfo Biazon and
Miguel Zubiri.
Government authorities and Sulpicio Lines Inc., the
owner of the sunken ferry, are still determining the
possible lapses or human errors that resulted in the
sinking of the vessel, which carried more than 700
people. At press time, just 32 survivors were snatched
from death, as they made it safely to nearby islands
onboard life boats from the vessel.
Sulpicio
Lines officials, in a press briefing on Monday, insisted
that the vessel, the country’s biggest roll-on/roll-off
passenger ship, was in good running condition, classed
by international group Bureau Veritas, and had all the
necessary papers from maritime authorities.
“We’re
also at a loss and are also trying to understand what
had happened because the ship when it set sail was in
good running condition,” Sally Buaron, the company’s
vice president for passage, said.
She
added the vessel was not overloaded with either cargo or
passengers when it left the Port of Manila on Friday
night for Cebu.
What may
have cost people’s lives is the inability of the
government weather bureau to give timely updates of the
status of Typhoon Frank to the vessel, which could give
them enough time to change its course or stopped at the
nearby port, she said.
“But we
cannot just pin the cause on them [Pagasa],” she
clarified.
The
ship, she said, had never encountered a single engine
problem while on voyage since Sulpicio purchased it in
2001. It underwent dry docking, or regular maintenance
of vessels, in February 2007, which strengthens
Sulpicio’s claim of its seaworthiness.
MV
Princess of the Stars was built in Japan in 1984 with
23,824 gross registered tonnage with a passenger
capacity of 1,992 and cargo capacity if 200 twenty-foot
metal containers.
The
vessel, when it sank, had a total of 862 people on
board: 724 manifested passengers, 111 crew members, and
27 contractors. As of Monday, there were only 32
identified survivors.
According to Marina Enforcement Office director Arnie
Santiago, who will fly on Tuesday to the site of the
incident, what could have caused the sinking is mainly
bad weather condition that caused the vessel to run
aground.
“I think
that the engine trouble that they are saying as the
cause is just secondary and just the effect of the
vessel running aground,” Santiago, who has investigated
most sea mishaps in the country, said.
On
Monday, the Board of Marine Inquiry—a body composed of
mainly the Coast Guard, Marina and other maritime
experts—was reactivated to look into possible human
errors, whether the government’s or Sulpicio’s, that led
to the sinking.
A task
force headed by DOTC Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista
was also created to review all the measures implemented
by the Coast Guard.
The
Coast Guard normally does not allow smaller to medium
sized vessels to sail between typhoon signals one and
two, but all sizes of vessels are barred from sailing
when signal number three is raised.
According to the Coast Guard, they allowed the Sulpicio
vessel to leave Manila at around 8 p.m. on Friday, when
only signal number 1 had been raised over Metro Manila.
It was supposed to arrive in Cebu on Saturday at 4:30
p.m.
By the
time signal 3 was raised in Manila on the same night at
around 11.30 p.m., Sulpicio’s vessel was already
coasting along the Visayas area.
Sulpicio
officials said they lost contact with ship captain
Florencio Marimon before lunch on Saturday, placing the
time of sinking shortly after noon.
In a
statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada
said Suazo and other Marina officials should resign for
implementing “defective” guidelines that allowed the
Princess of the Stars to sail despite advance
information on the incoming typhoon.
At the
same time, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel
pressed the Coast Guard to tighten rules on passenger
ships sailing immediately before or during a typhoon to
prevent sea tragedies. |
