Vessel sinks off Iloilo: 105 passengers, 35 crew safe–PCG

[jumper_stage]

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mora'g gituyo mora'g wala

insurance?...maybe...

[filibustero]

mora'g gituyo mora'g wala

insurance?...maybe...

unlikely... mas dakong risk ug ilang tuyoon para lang sa insurance...

ug napalpak unya daghang nangamatay dako kaayo ilang gastoon para compensation...

plus ma damage pa ilang reputation... IMO lang...

[kylot2008]

Thanks God! all passengers are brought to safety.. Congrats to all the people who helped them especially the coast guard..

[164meatshop]

buanga gud ani! may gani wala namatay!

[street_of_no_return]

pila na pud kaha to ka tuig barkoha..

[Githyanki]

Good thing noone died at this accident..

[ambotani21]

good to that hear everyone is safe...

dli jud ni kalikayan nga hitaboa, labi na kung mag mantinir lng na sila ug mga second hand nga barko nya pa recon lng, para mo lambo ila business....

[jumper_stage]

^ thankful gihapon ta kay walay okoy nga nabuang og pamintad ngadto og mga iho nga mga pating . . .

[ain]

168 rescued at sea

Monday, August 1, 2011

CEBU CITY -- A vessel of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. that linked Cebu and Iloilo capsized at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, less than two hours after it sent a distress call amid rough waves and strong winds.

Everyone on board was rescued, including a 10-month-old baby and Eufemia Abonales, at 70 the oldest of the ship’s passengers. The official Coast Guard report said 168 were aboard the vessel.

Fishermen and the crew of two other vessels rescued the passengers and crew of the M/V Asia-Malaysia. It was not overloaded when it sailed from Cebu at 6:30 p.m. last Saturday.

“We have prepared all possible assistance, including meals, transportation and medical attention,” said Trans-Asia president and general manager Kenneth Sy, in a press statement.

“We commend all the vessels and personnel who responded to this unfortunate incident and further acknowledge Marina (Maritime Industry Authority) and PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) for further implementing safety requirements, which the company complied with, that avoided any loss of life,” he said.

The vessels that came to the ship passengers’ rescue were the M/V Filipinas Cebu of Cokaliong Shipping Lines and the tanker Phil-Visayas of the Reyes and Lim Co.

A Coast Guard helicopter and vessel also rushed to the scene, along with Bantay Dagat patrol boats from the Iloilo Provincial Government.

Asia-Malaysia ship captain Romualdo P. Geraldizo, in a report, said they sailed on their course line with no untoward incidents after leaving Cebu last Saturday.

Distress

But at 4 a.m. Sunday, while in the vicinity of Calabasa Island between Guimaras and Bacolod, strong wind and big waves hit the M/V Asia-Malaysia.

The vessel began to list to its starboard (right) side.

The ship captain then informed the Coast Guard and sent a distress signal, which was what summoned the Filipinas Cebu (bound also for Iloilo) and the Fil-Visayas, which was sailing for Bacolod City.

Commodore Rolando Punzalan, chief of the Coast Guard-Cebu, said the vessel has a 551-passenger capacity, so it was well within its limits.

The distress call first reached the Coast Guard station in Bacolod City around 4:45 a.m.

Within minutes, more distress calls came as passengers managed to inform relatives by phone and text messages. Iloilo City-based radio stations received pleas for rescue.

“Immediately, rescue was launched with vessels nearby helping as well,” said Commodore Athelo Ybañez, Coast Guard Western Visayas District commander.

The M/V Asia-Malaysia was supposed to reach Iloilo at 7 a.m. The vessel never made it.

Rescue effort

Chester Cokaliong, president and general manager of Cokaliong Shipping Lines, said the M/V Filipinas Cebu conducted its share of the rescue operations from 6 to 7:30 a.m.

“Both ships ply the Cebu to Iloilo route, with a time gap of only one hour,” Cokaliong said. He instructed the crew of MV Filipinas Cebu to serve free instant noodles and bottled water to all rescued passengers.

The M/V Filipinas Cebu arrived at the Port of Iloilo City at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Cokaliong's shuttle buses ferried Trans-Asia's passengers to the Philippine Ports Authority terminal.

By then, the Asia-Malaysia already capsized.

The other passengers were rescued by the Phil-Visayas tanker, operated by Manila-based Reyes and Lim Company Inc.

Cebu Port Authority Commissioner Vicente Suazo Jr., the company’s executive vice president, said the tanker was bound for Bacolod City and immediately responded to the distress calls.

For the passengers, the ordeal began in the dark, around 4 a.m. or some three hours before their scheduled arrival. They began to put on lifejackets at that hour.

Ybañez of the Coast Guard quoted passengers as saying they heard a loud sound before the ship tilted around 30 degrees on its right side.

Sank

That sound could have been caused by the moving cargo, he said.

The vessel never regained its position, after seawater began to get in.
According to the initial report received by Punzalan, the captain gave the order to abandon ship.

The rescue vessels arrived and, after receiving the passengers, left the area around 7:50 a.m. An hour later, the Asia-Malaysia “totally sank,” said Ybañez.

Around 4 p.m., Trans-Asia Cebu representatives talked to the rescued passengers and reportedly gave them P500 each to help them get home.

But most of the passengers said they intend to seek compensation for the things they lost in the capsized ship.

Weather

The M/V Asia Malaysia was acquired by Trans-Asia Shipping Lines in 1997 and served the Cebu-Iloilo route. It was 71.6 meters long.

The Coast Guard will convene a Special Board of Marine Inquiry to investigate what caused the accident and recommended corrective measures to prevent similar mishaps.

The seas around Cebu remained safe for traveling as of Sunday, said Boy Artiaga, weather observer at the government weather bureau’s Mactan station.

But more rains are expected in Cebu because of the southwestern monsoon or habagat, which will continue until October, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.

Artiaga advised the public to always prepare for rain, which is more frequent and stronger in June, July and August.

As of 2 p.m. Sunday, typhoon Kabayan was spotted 1,005 kilometers east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, according to a Pagasa weather advisory.

[Dax101106]

Atleast pud walay nahitabong dili maayo sa mga pasahero...