Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Cebu-bound ferry with 141 people runs aground in So. Leyte
A CEBU City-bound ferry ran aground Sunday night off a town in Southern Leyte, stranding more than 100 passengers who spent the night in the middle of the sea.
Luckily, mv Samar Star, a passenger ship of Maypalad Shipping Lines, got stuck on a sandy seabed, saving its bottom hull from potential damage.
But all the passengers had to spend the night at sea, as ship captain Edgardo Chiong decided to stay on, to avoid damage to the vessel’s hull.
The crew of BRP Batangas, a search and rescue (SAR) ship of the Cebu Coast Guard (CG), came to the passengers’ rescue yesterday afternoon.
The Cebu CG dispatched BRP Batangas that arrived at the scene around 2 p.m. after a four-hour trip from Cebu City.
The CG used rubber boats to ferry the stranded passengers from mv Samar Star to the rescuing vessel.
The SAR vessel can reportedly accommodate all the passengers and ferry them to their Cebu City destination.
The 233-gross ton vessel left the port of Liloan, Southern Leyte for Cebu City around 7 p.m., carrying 141 adult passengers, four infants and 31 crewmen.
While sailing on a narrow sea channel, the mv Samar Star encountered a Butuan City-bound Gothong ship.
This prompted the vessel to maneuver in respond to the port-to-port call of the oncoming vessel, the CG said.
However, when mv Samar Star resumed its normal course, it encountered a strong current that made the vessel drift.
Chief Petty Officer Sesenando Andal of the CG station in Maasin City said the ship ran aground about 0.5 nautical miles northwest off Tood islet.
“We checked all the hull sections, and thank God, there is no leak or seepage of seawater. We’re safe,” said ship captain Chiong in a mobile phone interview.
He said they had to wait for the high tide, which was expected at 10 last night, for the ship to float safely before leaving the area.
Had it not run aground, Samar Star would have arrived at the Cebu City port at 3 a.m.
“All the passengers have all been taken care of by our crew, such as their breakfast, lunch and other needs,” Chiong said. (GC)
