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Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Incompetence blamed for mid-sea collision
CEBU -- Rescue workers suspended Monday the search for survivors of a ferry collision off Limbones Island that claimed at least 28 lives, as officials blamed crew incompetence for the accident.
As many as 30 people are believed missing after the wooden-hulled mv San Nicolas sank Sunday following a collision with the much larger Superferry 12 at the mouth of Manila Bay, Coast Guard official Lyndon la Torre said.
Heavy rains and rough seas brought by a tropical storm forced nearly all vessels and aircraft involved in the search to seek shelter.
A Coast Guard spokesman said no new survivors or bodies were found by afternoon.
Rescuers saved more than 200 people from the San Nicolas while Superferry 12, with 1,400 people on board, returned to port without casualties or serious damage.
Both vessels were trying to avoid a head-on crash in choppy waters and low visibility caused by a tropical storm.
Arrival in Cebu
Superferry 12 resumed its trip at 2 a.m. Monday and was expected to arrive at the Cebu International Port at midnight Tuesday.
MV Pilipina Princess of Sulpicio Lines was among the vessels that helped in the rescue efforts, as it left Manila for Cebu past 10 a.m. Sunday, less than hour after Superferry 12 departed also for Cebu.
The Pilipina Princess crew and passengers helped 26 survivors and retrieved one fatality in seven hours of helping the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard.
Hermes Sanico, 27, a passenger of Pilipina Princess who visited Sun.Star last night, said they were advised over the PA system to prepare for a rescue operation because two vessels have collided not far from them.
Sanico said it was only when they reached the site of the accident that they knew the collision involved Superferry 12 and San Nicolas, which was bound for Manila from Coron, Palawan.
A furious President Arroyo vowed that “heads will roll” over the incident.
"Someone must really be held accountable,” Arroyo said, saying the San Nicholas had clearly violated rules by carrying too many passengers.
She gave the maritime authorities 15 days to come up with answers.
Warnings
Crewmembers of the San Nicolas, interviewed on local television stations, insisted it was the other ship that was at fault, not responding to warnings that it was too close.
Superferry 12 skipper Rene Rafanan, in a marine protest filed Sunday with the Philippine Coast Guard, said that when the San Nicolas ferry was about a mile away, “it altered its course in an erratic manner.”
He maneuvered the Superferry to avoid a collision, but the San Nicolas hit them on the portside (left).
“The maneuver was not executed perfectly,” Reyes said, citing preliminary testimony from the San Nicolas captain.
“They should have been forewarned earlier about the (possibility of a collision). I understand too that the visibility was quite impaired,” he said.
Except for a few who decided to have their tickets refunded, more than 1,000 passengers still boarded the ship when Super Ferry 12 resumed its trip to Cebu from Manila, said Gina Virtusio, Aboitiz Transport Group Inc. spokesperson.
Instead of proceeding to Cebu, Superferry 12 rescued some survivors. It then returned to Manila where it docked for over five hours.
Overloaded?
Several people not on the San Nicolas’ manifest of 192 passengers had been found among the survivors and the dead, raising questions as to how many had been aboard the ship when the mishap took place.
Senate President Franklin Drilon said Congress would soon pass a bill creating a national safety board to probe accidents and a second bill consolidating rules on maritime safety.
“I issue a warning to our maritime authorities about the strict enforcement of navigational rules and the fitness of pilots of commercial vessels. These perennial accidents can and must be stopped, President Arroyo said Monday.
Many small ferries allow passengers to board at the last minute without being listed in the manifest. Maritime authorities say they do not have the resources to monitor all the vessels. GC/AIV/(AFP)
(May 27, 2003 issue)
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