Monday, June 23, 2008 Mishap casts doubt on rules By Elias O. Baquero & Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporters
SHIP owners and captains of large boats decide whether or not to sail in bad weather, under revised guidelines approved by the Coast Guard.
But President Arroyo reportedly scolded Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) authorities yesterday for allowing the mv Princess of the Stars to leave Manila North Harbor for Cebu last Friday night, when storm signal number one was raised over Metro Manila.
She also ordered the PCG to review its guidelines.
Acting on domestic ship operators’ wishes, the Coast Guard revised its guidelines last year and left it to the shipping companies to decide whether or not to ply their routes in foul weather.
Memorandum Circular 4-07 contains the guidelines issued by the Coast Guard last June 27, 2007.
Commander Antonio G. Cuasito, chief of staff of the PCG District Central-Eastern Visayas, said that under the old doctrine, vessels that weighed 1,000 gross tons or less were not allowed to depart when the weather bureau raised storm signal number one over their port of origin or destination.
“That is what the public knows. But the revised doctrine is different because it allows vessels to sail even if storm signal number one is raised,” Cuasito said.
If storm signal number one is raised within the vessel’s point of origin, the route or destination, the master or ship owners takes responsibility for deciding on the vessel’s movements.
During the boarding inspection in Manila last Friday, Cuasito said, Coast Guard boarding officers informed the ship captain that signal number one was already raised in Manila and that they would have to pass by areas placed under signal number two.
Despite the warnings, it was ultimately the ship captain’s decision whether to leave port or not, he added.
“I emphasized this revised doctrine during our meeting with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol. The public only knows about the old typhoon doctrine when all types of seacraft could not depart during signal number one,” Cuasito said.
Under the revised rules, vessels below 2,000 gross tons cannot sail if signal number two is raised over their ports of origin and destination. Princess of the Stars weighed over 28,000 gross tons.
The Maritime Industry Authority’s (Marina) role focuses on documenting ships, including their correct tonnage.
According to Cuasito, some ship operators and ship owners fail to declare the correct gross tonnage to evade some requirements regarding crew and officers.
The Coast Guard issued the revised guidelines after dialogues with the weather bureau Pag-asa, Marina, Department of Transportation and Communication and the Visayan Association of Ferryboat and Coastwise Service Operators.
In one of the dialogues, Marina 7 Director Glenn Cabañez said that Coast Guard has no authority to hold a vessel. If a ship wants to leave, the ship owner and the captain’s duty is to submit the Master Oath of Safety Departure to the Coast Guard at the port of departure.
Cebu City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem yesterday expressed dismay why the mv Princess of Stars was allowed to depart from Manila for Cebu.
The chairman of the council committee on transportation said that unlike past sea mishaps when no one seemed to get punished, heads will roll this time.
“How the hell did they allow it (ship) to leave Manila Friday night when it was so clear (that) it would travel in the direct path of the typhoon?” Jakosalem said.
He said the PCG also failed to inform and ask for help from the Philippine Air Force. He said it was only after he called Gen. Butch Lacson at 10 a.m. yesterday that the official was updated of the situation.
The City Government has organized personnel to help the relatives of the missing passengers.
“We are setting up help desks and putting up tents now because there so many relatives who want information and are getting rained on,” Jakosalem said yesterday afternoon.
The City, he added, has tasked its disaster team to coordinate with Sulpicio Lines in giving information to the anxious relatives. (EOB/RHM)
