THE Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao-Davao Oriental (CGDSEM-Davao Oriental) is conducting a salvage operation for a cargo vessel that ran aground on May 3, 2024, to “stabilize and recover the vessel.”
In a Facebook post on May 4, Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) said it responded to a cargo vessel, MV GY Bella Trix, commanded by Captain Enrico B Dagatan Jr., and owned by the GY Shipping Lines Inc. after it ran aground around 1 a.m. on May 3 in Barangay Lavigan, Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental.
“The Coast Guard Station Davao Oriental, along with the Marine Environmental Protection Unit - Southeastern Mindanao (MEPU-SEM) and other response teams, were swiftly dispatched to the site to assess the situation,” CGDSEM said in the post.
Contrary to the previous report, there was no salt contamination in the center fuel oil tank and bilges.
“The central fuel oil tank has not been compromised by saltwater. However, the forepeak, which contained fresh water, was breached. This was promptly addressed by emptying the tank using a portable water pump and safely discharge the water overboard,” CGDSEM said
To prevent damage to the environment and mitigate the effects of potential oil spillage, the Marine Environmental Protection Unit - Southeastern Mindanao (MEPU-SEM) and Special Operations Group-Southeastern Mindanao (SOG-SEM) deployed their 95-meter spill boom because of the vessel’s diesel fuel cargo of 42,730 liters.
The vessel is scheduled to be extracted and towed to Sta. Ana anchorage area, Davao City for final inspection and further evaluation. However, initial action to extract the vessel early morning of May is unsuccessful even with the assistance from a motor tugboat MT Regulus of Harbour Star.
Annie D. Patricio, Human Resource manager for GY Shipping Lines Inc., and Dagatan are closely coordinating with CGDSEM and other agencies to facilitate the recovery operations of the cargo vessel. Extraction of the vessel is still ongoing as of writing and with the high tide aiding in the next extraction attempt.
“Safety and environment protection remain top priorities as efforts intensity to refloat the MV GY Bellatrix safety,” CGDSEM said. RGP