SIXTY-EIGHT small vessels with gross tonnage below 250 cancelled their trips on Friday, October 20, after the weather bureau issued a gale warning over the seaboard of Visayas due to Typhoon Paolo.
Waves, according to weather bureau Pagasa, could reach up to 4.5 meters high.
That affected most of the fast crafts bound for Tagbilaran, Tubigon and Getafe in Bohol; Ormoc, Leyte; Dumaguete City and Sibulan in Negros Oriental; Larena, Siquijor; and Camotes Island.
Records from the Philippine Coast Guard Cebu Station (PCG-Cebu) showed that 127 passengers were stranded due to the cancellation.
Exceptions
Seaman Second Eljohn Morillo of the operations division of PCG-Cebu said that vessels above 250 tonnage were allowed to sail, but some shipping lines opted to cancel their trips.
“We recorded fewer stranded passengers in different ports in Central Visayas because some of the shipping lines already advised their passengers ahead by not issuing tickets,” Morillo told SunStar Cebu.
In Cebu City, Councilor Dave Tumulak said that PCG personnel rescued a motorbanca from Bohol off the waters of Pasil Fish Port after the captain had a hard time maneuvering towards the port.
Strong winds and rough seas made it hard for the boat to dock.
All passengers were safe, though, Tumulak said.
As of yesterday afternoon, Pagasa said typhoon Paolo was located 840 kilometers (kms) east of Basco, Batanes with maximum wind gustiness of 180 kph, moving northeast at 17 kph.