STAKEHOLDERS of the two Mactan-Mandaue bridges are now coming up with measures to protect the structural soundness of the two links.
These include installing rubber fenders and identifying possible alternative routes for vessels so accidents that could damage the bridges would be avoided.
They agreed on the move after a barge and a tugboat hit a column of the first Mandaue-Mactan bridge last Sunday morning. The incident came barely three weeks after a vessel rammed one of the columns of the Marcelo B. Fernan (MBF) bridge.
“This is very disturbing. This is the second incident (involving the bridges) in about a month’s time,” said Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia during a special meeting yesterday of
the Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB), which she presided.
Garcia was referring to the March 10 incident when mt Damar rammed into a column of the MBF Bridge.
In Sunday’s incident off Barangay Looc in Man-daue City, the barge Aquarius, towed by a tugboat, hit a column while maneuvering under the bridge. The barge was fully loaded with 114 20-footer container vans.
“The tugboat was towing the barge, which was full of cargoes, when both hit the bridge at 7 a.m. last Sunday,” said Mardon Martin, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) 7 maritime safety specialist, during the meeting.
What happened
According to witnesses, the barge first drifted and slightly scratched the side of the bridge. The barge was bound for Manila.
Ricardo Pepito, general manager of Cebu-based Asian Shipping Corp. which owns Aquarius and the tugboat Marc, said during the meeting that vessels usually slow down when passing under the two bridges.
He added that strong current swept the barge toward the column of the first bridge, prompting the barge to sideswipe a portion of the column.
Operatives of the Maritime police who took photos of the scratches on the starboard portion of the barge also noticed a dent on its bow.
Like the operators of mt Damar, owners of the barge and the tugboat will also be made to pay for whatever damage the incident will cause to the bridge.
Garcia said that while they have sent a letter to Cebu-based Asian Shipping Corp., owners of the vessels, management representatives have verbally assured the MCBMB that it is willing to shoulder all the cost for the bridge’s repair.
Bridge stakeholders, however, believe that coming up with a long-term plan to protect the bridges is always better.
For a start though, the MCBMB will pass a resolution today authorizing Garcia to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 for the procurement and installation of rubber fenders on the first bridge.
The MCBMB will later have the expenditures reimbursed by the DPWH 7, which will determine the extent of the damage on the bridge considering that the finishing touches of the bridge were chipped off.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) officials in Central Visayas, for their part, said it is important to address the “abnormal” strong water current in the Mactan Channel, a claim made by the barge’s owner.
Garcia admitted having received complaints from ship operators that they have been having difficulty maneuvering their vessel when passing under the bridge.
A report on the situation of the water current under the bridge will be presented by the Coast Guard (CG), Navy and Maritime Group in the next MCBMB meeting on April 14.
Alternative route
The governor, on the other hand, is proposing to have an alternative route.
“We want to get all information available. First of all, we would like to know what kind of vessel is allowed to pass through the bridge,” the governor said, adding that Neda will be coming up with a position paper on the proper study to be done to protect the bridges.
A proper investigation by the DPWH, including underwater study on the impact of the incident on the structural integrity of the bridge, will also be done, the governor added.
Marina 7 has also suspended the safety certificate of the barge and tugboat to prevent them from leaving while investigation is still ongoing.
Both vessels are currently anchored off Sogod town in northern Cebu and cannot be moved, even by the owners, without the permission of Marina 7.
Marina’s Martin said they will summon tugboat captain Edwin Paala to shed light on the incident and will also go to Sogod today to inspect the vessels and assess the
damage as a result of the incident.
Suspended
“We also suspended the license of (Paala) to prevent him from operating the vessel again while we are still looking into the matter,” he added.
Martin also said that Paala has submitted a marine protest, which was not notarized, to the Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu Station. Marina, however, has yet to receive a copy of the document.
Sunday’s incident involving the columns of the first bridge was already the third to happen.
In 1984, ms Bradevertte of Everett Steamship Corp. hit the base of pier 8, causing the corner of a pile cap to chip off. Six years later, on Nov. 13, 1990, the Korean-registered mv Sanko Elegance, then moored at the pier of General Milling Corp., butted pier 7 at the height of typhoon Ruping, seriously damaging the superstructure of the bridge.
In the March 10 incident involving the second bridge, the DPWH 7 found a “hairline crack” on the column of the second bridge.
DPWH 7 Assistant Secretary Marlene Alviso, however, has allayed fears that the crack may affect the stability and safety of the structure.
“It’s not alarming. The bridge is stable,” Alviso had said.
Sea-Tech Transport Inc., which owns mt Damar, already gave a P500,000 cash bond to the bridge board for the repairs. (GMD/EOB)
