Monday, June 04, 2007 Ship operators await CG’s nod
THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has yet to act on a request from ferryboat operators to give them the discretion whether to sail or not during storm signal number one.
Visayan Association of Ferryboat and Coastwise Service Operators (VAFCSO) president Chester Cokaliong of Cokaliong Shipping Lines said that since their dialogue with PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) last Nov. 8, there has been no development.
In that meeting, Cokaliong and other shipping operators complained that once Pag-asa raises signal number one during weather disturbances, the Coast Guard no longer allows vessels of 1,000 gross tons or less to leave port.
Stranded
The shipping operators said this system results to thousands of passengers getting stranded. This also results to losses in business as goods are not delivered.
In the meeting, Marina 7 Director Glenn Cabanez said the Coast Guard has no authority to hold a vessel. He said that if a ship wants to leave, the duty of the ship owner and the captain is to submit the Master Oath of Safety Departure (MOSD) to the Coast Guard at the port of departure.
But the problem, said Lucio Lim Jr. of Lite Shipping Lines, is that if a coast guard officer does not want the vessel to leave port, he can simply refuse to receive and stamp the MOSD.
VAFCSO past president Jeoffrey Solon said the issue that needs to be resolved immediately by the PCG is whether vessels of 1,000 gross tonnage and below shall be allowed to depart under signal number one, now that the typhoon months are pproaching.
Two hours
Solon said that under signal number one, Pag-asa expects the typhoon to arrive within 36 hours. If this is so, then vessels plying the Cebu City-Tubigon, Bohol route which takes only two hours to travel must be allowed to sail.
He said that even fast crafts which travel one hour and a half between Cebu City and Taqbilaran City must be allowed to sail.
Ella Comahig of Pagasa in Mactan said that last year, about 20 weather disturbances (typhoons, tropical depression and tropical storm) hit the Philippine territory but only three or four of them hit Cebu. (EOB)
