Wednesday, July 09, 2008 BMI to help search for crew who’ll talk with House probers
THE search for crew members who survived the mv Princess of the Stars tragedy last June 21 will start soon after the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) agrees to help.
During last Monday’s House inquiry, Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) said the committee on transportation agreed on the need to locate the surviving crew members to testify that there was no engine trouble when the vessel was at sea.
“We heard there are many crew members who survived but apparently they don’t want to come out now…we want to track them down, especially those assigned in the engine room and the upper deck because they would really know what happened. The BMI has already agreed to facilitate that,” Cuenco said.
Meanwhile, Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) filed another civil case, this time seeking P5.5 million in damages from Del Monte Philippines Inc. for alleged “deceit and non-disclosure” of the toxic character of its cargo aboard the mv Princess of the Stars.
Jordan Go, Sulpicio stockholder and vice president for marketing, filed the civil case against Del Monte for maritime tort, breach of terms and conditions in the Bill of Lading and damages.
“Due to Del Monte’s deceit and non-disclosure, plaintiff was led to believe the subject shipment of endosulfan to be regular cargo. Had defendant Del Monte disclosed the toxic nature of the cargo, plaintiff would not have loaded the same on board a passenger-cargo vessel,” said the lawsuit filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court.
Search teams have suspended the retrieval of bodies from the vessel, which remains embedded in a reef off Romblon Province, while efforts shifted to removing the toxic cargo from the ship’s hold.
The search for survivors has also proved dismal, with fewer than 60 accounted for, out of more than 800 passengers and crew aboard the ship.
In a phone interview, Cuenco said the BMI and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will try to locate the crew members of the mv Princess of the Stars who survived.
They will be asked to testify when the Lower House inquiry resumes early next month.
“The BMI agreed to help locate the surviving crew members because they alone can shed light on what really happened,” Cuenco said.
The Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will also be asked to help the House committee, the BMI and the NBI in locating the survivors.
Cuenco’s proposal to find the crew members came after hearing reports that mv Princess of the Stars failed to avoid typhoon Frank because of engine trouble, which SLI already denied.
A little over 200 bodies have been shipped to Cebu, with majority of them still awaiting identification.
Last week, SLI sued the weather bureau Pag-asa and demanded P4.45 million in damages, saying that its forecasts about typhoon Frank’s trajectory were erroneous and contributed to the accident.
In its new lawsuit against Del Monte, SLI asked for, among others, P549,661.11 as actual damages, representing the correct freight charges and penalties; P3 million to pay for special cargo retrieval operations; and P1 million in moral damages for “a besmirched reputation and loss of corporate goodwill.”
“Plaintiff was constrained to hire several foreign experts in order to undertake special cargo retrieval operations of Del Monte’s toxic endosulfan cargo. Plaintiff had to likewise engage the expertise of foreign salvors in order to undertake special salvage and refloating operations of the vessel so as to prevent Del Monte’s toxic cargo of endosulfan from leaking,” the complaint stated.
Four days after the Stars capsized, Sulpicio received a letter from Del Monte informing them that its shipment of about 10,000 kilos of endosulfan was a “toxic substance and a marine pollutant.”
For Malacañang, Sulpicio Lines may not be liable for the presence of endosulfan inside the sunken ship but it remains “morally liable” for the possible contamination.
“They’re not yet off the hook, definitely,” deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said.
A restricted pesticide, endosulfan can cause death or affect the nervous system if ingested. (LCR/With Sunnex)
