Thursday, July 17, 2008 BMI asks survivors to attend hearing
THE Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) will conduct a hearing in Cebu tomorrow and on Saturday on the sinking of mv Princess of the Stars last June 21.
Commodore Edmund Tan of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) asked survivors of the sinking to attend and testify during the hearing so they can give details on what really happened between the time Princess of the Stars departed North Harbor in Manila until it sank near Sibuyan Island in Mindoro.
Tan said the survivors have a lot of things to say about the incident and their testimonies are vital to BMI’s decision on the incident.
The BMI already conducted hearings in Manila, where they summoned officials from Sulpicio Lines, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), PCG and some survivors.
Policies
In appealing to the survivors to testify, Tan said their testimonies can also help shape policies the government will make to improve the shipping industry.
Tan said they summoned at least five survivors in Cebu. The problem, he said, is they don’t have their specific addresses.
“The address of one of the survivors is V. Rama Ave., Cebu City. That is a long street that covers at least two barangays. It’s really hard to find them. That’s why we asked the media for help in informing them that there is a BMI hearing tomorrow and Saturday,” Tan said.
Tan said he was informed a few seamen who survived the sinking went to a marine school to reconstruct copies of the school records that got lost during the sea mishap.
Since then, the survivors no longer appeared in public. Tan alleged that this was because officials of their marine school were sympathetic to the shipping company and told them to hide.
Tan asked survivors to call the Coast Guard at 416-6386, 0929-686-4123 and 0922-357-4919.
Under maritime laws, the BMI is automatically convened whenever there is a sea tragedy to determine the cause of the incident.
Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said the outcome of the BMI investigation will serve as input in the discussion of the Marina Board in formulating measures to improve the shipping industry. (EOB)
