OPERATORS of MV Lite Ferry 16 could face sanctions after it failed to provide a proper manifest of passengers before it sailed from Samboan, Cebu to Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte on Tuesday night, Aug. 27, 2019.
Vessel owner Danilo Lines and Lite Holdings Inc. reportedly violated the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) Memorandum Circular 05-2012, or the Master’s Declaration of Safe Departure (MDSD).
The crew of mv Lite Ferry 16 reportedly submitted an MDSD that failed to disclose all of the passengers.
Lite Holdings Inc. had initially declared that the vessel was carrying 180 passengers and 38 crew members before it left Samboan.
After the fire hit the boat, emergency teams rescued 245 people, 201 of them passengers while nine others were not included in the manifest. Including the three passengers who died during the fire, the boat’s passengers reached 248.
Lt. Junior Grade Michael John Encina, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) 7 spokesman, described the boat’s MDSD as “fraudulent.”
The PCG, he said, could issue an “enforcement inspection apprehension report” about the shipping line’s alleged violation and the company’s representatives would be summoned for “adjudication.”
The memorandum states that the operator could face a P130,000 penalty for violating the MDSD.
Encina said he received reports that the departure of mv Lite Ferry 16 from Samboan was delayed as the PCG personnel carefully cleared the boat.
The nine persons who were not declared in the manifest were considered non-paying passengers such as drivers or helpers carrying cargoes, said Encina.
As of Thursday, Aug. 29, the vessel was located about 80 meters off the Port of Plaridel in Misamis Occidental.
Encina said the PCG plans to extract the 19,000 liters of fuel in the vessel to prevent an oil spill from happening.
Meanwhile, the management of Lite Holdings Inc. led by businessman Lucio Lim Jr. declared that all of passengers are already accounted for, and he denied that there are still missing passengers.
Lim said they will be giving P240,000 to each family of passengers who died. Two adults and an infant died in the incident.
Survivors will initially receive P100,000 from the vessel’s insurance company. (from HBL & AYB of Superbalita Cebu/JKV)