SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- At least 11 passengers, including four children, were rescued Sunday morning off the coast of Cabangan, Zambales after their yacht stalled recently on the way back to the Subic Bay Freeport.
The passengers, who were stranded in the sea for more than nine hours, were rescued by the tugboat MT Stanford that was dispatched by the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation (SALVTUG) on request of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma.
According to the SBMA, the group left the Subic Bay Yacht Club (SBYC) at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 3, on board the luxury sports motor yacht MY Fusion and arrived at the resort-island of Magalawa some 90 kilometers north of Subic by noon time.
The group left the island at 3 p.m., but the two engines of the yacht reportedly stalled at 6 p.m. about halfway en route to SBYC.
The group sent out SOS messages to relatives and friends, and soon the information reached the SBMA which then sought the help of the Subic Freeport business locator SALVTUG. It sent two tugboats.
At around 9:40 p.m., the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) established contact with the yacht, informing the passengers that the tugboat MT Stanford was on the way to their location.
At around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, MT Stanford finally towed MY Fusion to the Cabangan Port where the passengers disembarked. Soon, the Coast Guard’s multi-role response vessel MRRV 4406 arrived to take the passengers back to Subic while the grounded yacht was towed back to SBYC.
The passengers safely arrived at 8 a.m. while MT Stanford with MY Fusion in tow reached the Subic harbor at around 11 a.m.
The MY Fusion is owned by Wang He of Golden Fortune 101 Ltd. and is currently registered in Hong Kong. The yacht’s fuel tank reportedly leaked as fuel residue clogged the engine’s fuel lines.
Aside from seasickness and vomiting, nobody from MY Fusion was injured during the nine-hour ordeal. (Ric Sapnu)