SEVERAL sea trips in the region were canceled Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, due to the gale warning raised by the weather bureau Pagasa in the eastern seaboards of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
These included the 7 a.m. trip of MBCA Junmar 2, from Pilar Port, Camotes to Ormoc City, Leyte; the 8 a.m. trip of MBCA Apekop from Oslob to Panglao, Bohol; the 8:30 a.m. trip of MBCA San Isidro from Ubay, Bohol to Bato, Leyte; and the 9 a.m. trip of MBCA Leopards from Ubay, Bohol to Hilongos, Leyte.
The gale warning is due to tropical storm “Ineng,” which maintained its strength. It has maximum winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 90 kph moving west, northwest of Northern Luzon at 10 kph per hour, based on the 5 p.m., Thursday forecast.
The Coast Guard (CG) Bohol temporarily suspended the voyage of all vessels below 250 gross tonnage starting 5 a.m on Thursday.
Among the suspended trips were those bound for Camarines, Catanduanes, Eastern Albay, Sorsogon, Eastern Quezon, Polillo Island, Leyte, Northern and Eastern Samar, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Island and Siargao.
In a notice issued by Lt. Patrick John Cabasag, commander of the Bohol CG Station, all trips will resume once the weather and sea condition improve.
Vessels that wanted to take shelter were permitted as long as these were able to secure a permit and would not let passengers board.
However, Al Quiblat, chief of Pagasa Visayas, said there was a low chance of Ineng making landfall as it is expected to be outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility either on Saturday night or early morning Sunday.
Ineng is the ninth tropical storm for the year and the second for the month of August.
“For the next 24 hours, Central Visayas could expect a sunny but mostly cloudy weather. Isolated rains and thunderstorms could also be expected. The Western Visayas, particularly Panay Island, could also expect mostly cloudy weather with light to moderate and occasional intermittent heavy rains,” Quiblat told SunStar Cebu in a phone interview.
Pagasa also issued a gale warning in Eastern and Northern Visayas, Samar, Eastern Samar and Leyte with wave height expected to be at 2.5 to 4.5 meters. (WBS)