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Thursday, March 18, 2004
Engine trouble spoils vessel’s return
PASSENGERS of a Sulpicio Lines vessel arrived in Cebu four hours late yesterday, after engine trouble hit the ship off Argao, Cebu.
The cooling jacket on the engine of mv Princess of the Ocean reportedly malfunctioned.
Inspections
Sulpicio Lines management announced last week that after strikers held some vessels hostage, inspections were ordered to make sure passengers reached their destinations safely once normal operations resumed.
Capt. Nestor Ponteres, Sulpicio port captain, said it took more than an hour to replace the cooling jacket because the crew had to wait for the engine to cool off.
Among the stranded passengers were Cebu City anti-smut crusader Rene Bullecer and Japanese nationals who were supposed to take a 7 a.m. flight for Manila at the Mactan airport.
Cannot avoid
“I must admit that we cannot avoid an incident like this. We cannot predict when an engine part will have a defect,” Sulpicio spokesman Ulysses Yap told reporters in a press conference.
But Yap said that all their vessels are seaworthy and have met the international safety management standards.
Princess of the Ocean has a capacity of 1,900 passengers, but only more than 100 passengers and 60 crewmembers were on board at that time. It left Cagayan de Oro City port last Tuesday night.
The incident happened while the shipping firm’s striking seafarers are calling for the management to rehire them and give them better overtime pay and meal allowances.
More than 20 Sulpicio vessels failed to leave port because of the strike that lasted for five days last week. GC/EOB
(March 18, 2004 issue)
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