Sunday, June 29, 2008
2 injured after vessels collide at sea
EXACTLY a week after the mv Princess of the Stars tragedy, two vessels sideswiped each other in a pre-dawn incident yesterday off Camotes Island, Cebu, injuring two people.
Luckily, Michael Sortida and Vincent Mateo, both 41 and of Ormoc City, only suffered minor injuries in their arms, said Chief Petty Officer Virgilio Tibayan of the Coast Guard (CG) Station Cebu.
The two were taken to the Ospa Medical Center in Ormoc for treatment.
All the 607 passengers, including five infants, and 78 crewmen of mv Wonderful Star of Cebu-based Roble Shipping Inc. safely reached Ormoc hours after the mishap.
The 1,297-gross-ton ship encountered cargo ship MCC Sulu, a 9,000-gross-ton vessel, at 12:36 a.m., or just two hours after it left Cebu City last Friday.
Tibayan said mv Wonderful Star suffered some damage on its left side’s catwalk railing, while the cargo ship had a minor scratch on its right side towards the back, Tibayan said.
CG Station Cebu Chief Elpidio Gunio said the impact was slight and both vessels continued to sail to their destinations.
Tibayan said mv Wonderful Star arrived in Ormoc at 5:26 a.m. while the mv MCC Sulu, which left Manila Friday dawn, reached the Cebu International Port (CIP) at 4 a.m.
The CG special board of marine inquiry, he said, will determine which of the vessels was at fault, specifically for not observing the “rules of the road at sea.”
As of yesterday, the Ormoc City CG station was checking on whether the passenger ship was seaworthy or not.
A CG port state control team will also assess the damage on mv MCC Sulu at the CIP, Tibayan said.
Both the passenger and cargo vessel captains were required to submit within 24 hours their marine protest, which details how the incident happened. (GC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 29, 2008 issue)
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