Saturday, June 30, 2007 Ship bound for Cebu stalled By Garry Cabotaje & Elias O. Baquero Sun.Star Staff Reporters
THREE passenger ferries of a Cebu-based shipping giant will be unable to sail until government inspectors confirm they have no defects, after one of the vessels got stalled less than six hours from port yesterday.
Two cargo vessels of Sulpicio Lines had to rush to the aid of a 33-year-old Cebu City-bound ferry that suffered power problems off Siquijor at dawn.
Both cargo ships began towing the mv Princess of the Ocean past 1 p.m., after its crew failed to restart the vessel’s three generators.
That incident prompted the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to ground three vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc. for inspection, including the Princess of the Ocean.
Marina 7 Director Glenn Cabanez also suspended the Safety Certificate issued to the mv Princess of the Ocean, to be reactivated only if the ship is found seaworthy.
The 7,927-gross-ton ship left Cagayan de Oro City port around 8 p.m. Thursday, carrying 451 passengers and 56 crewmen.
Adrift
Around 1 a.m., the vessel’s three generator sets, which supply the lighting system and engine power, broke down while the vessel was some 4.5 nautical miles northeast of Siquijor, said Cebu Coast Guard (CG) Deputy Chief Roberto Muela.
Muela said the ship, with Captain Virgilio Ylagan at the helm, was supposed to arrive at Cebu City port around 6 a.m. yesterday.
Sulpicio Lines Port Captain Nestor Ponteres said the crew tried to fix the busted generator sets, to no avail.
“They already fixed two of the generator engines hours later, but these conked out again,” Ponteres said.
This prompted the Sulpicio Lines management to send two of its cargo ships, mv Solcon Express III and mv Solcon 12, from Cagayan de Oro City and Cebu, respectively.
The mv Princess of the Ocean was adrift off Oslob town, Cebu when the two cargo vessels arrived around 12 p.m., said Ponteres.
Irate clients
Both cargo vessels began towing the ferry an hour later, and it was expected to arrive in Cebu City late last night—at least 15 hours behind schedule.
Ponteres said there was no report of a commotion on board as the crew provided the passengers with their meals and other needs.
Although the lights went out when the generator sets bogged down, the vessel was equipped with an emergency battery-powered lighting system, he added.
However, several passengers called up radio stations and complained that they lacked water for bathing, drinking and cleaning the toilets.
Some passengers got angry because they failed to report for work or attend business meetings.
Marina 7 Safety Specialist Mardon Martin said that a team headed by Arnie Santiago, chief of the Marina enforcement office, will inspect not only the mv Princess of the Ocean, but also the mv Filipina Princess and mv Princess of the Universe.
Bought 1997
These three vessels have been reported stranded in recent years, according to Marina records.
“If the three vessels will be found defective, they will not be allowed to sail until the defects are corrected,” Martin said.
Ponteres pointed out: “No shipping owners want that their vessels stranded because it will incur heavy losses, including the meals that had to be given free to the passengers, plus the unrealized income.”
Although the vessel was built in 1974 and acquired by Sulpicio Lines in 1997 yet, its engine is still in running condition, Ponteres said.
At first, mv Princess of the Ocean plied the Cebu-Manila-Cebu route, but was later assigned to another route when other vessels were purchased by the company. (GC/EOB)
