Passenger, cargo vessels collide off Cebu - August 16, 2013

[Rakizta]

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Marina suspends fleets of 2GO, Span Asia

GOVERNMENT suspended yesterday the fleets of 2Go and the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp., while investigators try to find out what caused two of their vessels to collide last Friday night.

“Our initial finding on the cause of the sea mishap is human error,” said Arnie Santiago, chief of the Maritime Industry Authority’s (Marina) Enforcement Office.

Santiago and his team are expected in Cebu today to inspect the site of the accident off the shores of Talisay City.

“We want to know why the officers of both vessels failed to effectively communicate with each other and use their respective radars to know whether another vessel is crossing their path,” Santiago said.

Thirty-two persons were confirmed dead while at least 751 others survived the accident, which happened near the Lawis Ledge.

Narrow road

“Accidents have happened there in the past…but those vessels only ran aground,” Coast Guard Central Visayas District Commander William Melad said in a press conference.

He compared the strait, where the accident happened, to a narrow road where only a few vehicles can pass at the same time.

“The sea is wide, but there are shallow portions in it,” he explained.

A representative of the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. (formerly Sulpicio Lines) said that the officers of the Sulpicio Express 7 radioed the M/V Thomas Aquinas and asked them not to cross the cargo vessel’s path.

They alleged they got no response.

But a representative of 2Go, which owns the Aquinas passenger ferry, said the officers radioed the Sulpicio Express to say they could not change course, because there were shallow portions in the area.

Transportation Secretary Antonio Abaya said yesterday afternoon that two investigations will be conducted.

One, by the Board of marine Inquiry of the Coast Guard, will determine what happened.

Inspection

The other, by the Marina, will identify who should be held liable.

Abaya called called a joint press conference in Manila with Coast Guard Commandant Rodolfo Isorena and Marina Administrator Maximo Mejia Jr.

Mejia ordered an immediate inspection of all vessels operated by both companies.

Mejia said their initial check of the documents of the two companies showed no sign of problems in the vessels’ structural integrity. The Aquinas had been inspected last month.

The Marina also asked the operators of both vessels to explain what happened within 72 hours.

In their initial investigation, Melad said the passenger ship within 15 minutes after getting hit in its starboard quarter by the cargo vessel. (To a person aboard a ship, facing in the direction of its bow or front, starboard is to the right.)

“Parang tinuhog talaga (It was as if the passenger vessel was skewered),” he said. It sank some 110 feet below the surface, while the Sulpicio Express stayed afloat, its bow badly dented.

Maneuver

The M/V Saint Thomas Aquinas is 138 meters long and 22 meters wide. It has a gross tonnage of 11,405 and a maximum recorded speed of 17.3 knots. The Japan-made vessel was converted into a passenger ship in 1992.

The M/V Sulpicio Express 7, on the other hand, is a general cargo ship that was built in 1981. It is 146 meters long and 21 meters wide, with a maximum recorded speed of 5.8 knots.

Malacañang vowed yesterday to get to the bottom of the collision.

Apart from the relief assistance being extended by the 2Go Group, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government is also prepared to help the victims.

The Marina 7 was tasked to re-inspect the Sulpicio Express 7 for its seaworthiness.

Capt. Nestor Ponteres of Philippine Span Asia said the Sulpicio Express 7, which was built in Poland, was in the right path and going full speed when the Aquinas appeared and began to cross its path.

Ponteres said the officers of Sulpicio Express 7 communicated with the Aquinas, but received no response. He claimed that two vessels of Trans Asia Shipping Lines also communicated with the 2Go vessel, but also got no response.

“Sulpicio Express 7 was in the right and because our ship was at full speed, it was too late to maneuver,” Ponteres said.
Swerved

Jordan Go, president and CEO of Philippine Span Asia, said they are helping in the search and rescue operations.

Sulpicio Tagud Jr., president and CEO of the 2Go Group, said they gave an initial assistance of P5,000 per passenger, pending the final report on the accident.

Contrary to the statement of Ponteres, Tagud said that according to the captain of the Aquinas, the Sulpicio cargo ship was taking the same lane as the passenger ship.

He said the two captains radioed each other, but the captain of the St. Thomas Aquinas saw that the cargo ship was not changing lanes.

At the last moment, he tried to swerve to the left, but the two ships still collided.

Marina 7 Legal Officer Jose Cabatingan said they will wait for the results of the Maritime Crisis Management Committee’s meeting in Manila.

The committee was convened yesterday.

Marina suspends fleets of 2GO, Span Asia | Sun.Star


isig pagawsanay nas alibi ang duha ka kapitan sa isig ka barko . mayta mahuman na ang imbestigasyon ani og silutan ang sad an .

[tuWaD!!!]

pangutan.on tika unsa may matabang sa pag ampo nimu sa mga nalonod?

Wa ko kabalo unsay gi-ampo sa niya or sa ubang tao, pero ang akong gi ampo kay peace para sa nangamatay ug para sa ilang pamilya sir

[darsmith13]

nang hinaw na ang duha ka kapitan oh..

[Rakizta]

Volunteers, divers join gov’t teams in search, rescue effort off Talisay City

RESIDENTS of Talisay City’s coastal barangays helped save hundreds of passengers of the M/V St. Thomas Aquinas, particularly fishermen who rushed to the scene to pull passengers from the waves.

Those waiting in Barangays Tangke, Cansojong, San Roque and Poblacion attended to the passengers as they were brought to shore, gave them blankets and sheltered them until ambulances arrived with more help.

Dodong Caballero, a resident of Tangke, was one of the first responders.

He was in his fishing boat that evening when he heard someone screaming. A closer look revealed a group of men and women floating in the deep water.

After bringing the survivors to shore, Caballero immediately called on his fellow fishermen to return to the area, near Lawis Ledge, to rescue the others.

Rough seas proved to be a challenge for the rescuers yesterday, as the search continued in daylight, but commercial vessels and helicopters were deployed to help in the operation, said Coast Guard Central Visayas District Commodore William Melad.

“We can’t lose hope,” he said.

The search area stretches about three nautical miles, Melad added, from the vicinity of Lawis Ledge to the Talisay shoreline.

Melad said the Coast Guard responded immediately after receiving the information, within five minutes of the accident.

“It was a quick action,” he said.

A group of environmentalists also offered their skills to help the authorities in the retrieval operations.

The Sea Knights, a group based in Talisay City, volunteered to have their professional scuba divers conduct the first dive to locate
the M/V St. Thomas Aquinas.

Alfie Fernandez of the Sea Knights told reporters that during their initial dive yesterday morning, they found a drowned passenger stuck in one part of the vessel. But they couldn’t recover the body, because the search was suspended due to bad weather.

“It was heartbreaking. But due to unavoidable factors, we couldn’t proceed further,” Fernandez said.

The Sea Knights set up a cable or line to guide other divers to the site of the sunken vessel.

Other divers, rescue and emergency assistance groups from different parts of Metro Cebu also pitched in to help.

Talisay City Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante admired the locals for their help, particularly the fishermen and a group called Fiseca.

Mayor Johnny de los Reyes thanked the neighboring local governments of Naga City, San Fernando, Cebu City and Mandaue City for providing ambulances to take the survivors to the hospitals.

Volunteers, divers join in search, rescue effort for survivors in Cebu sea mishap | Sun.Star

pasalamat ta nga abtik sad mga igsuon nato nga mananagat nga nitabang dayon or rescue kong wa pa ni sila mutabang ,murag daghan gyud mangalunod nga mga pasahero . unsung heroes...

[vo2max]

Para walay hugas kamot maayo i-implement sa Marina nga ang mga interisland vessels nato over 3000 gross tons butangan pud ug VDR (Voyage Data Recorder). Murag blackbox ni siya sa eroplano nga ga-record sa tanang navigational activities sa barko incldg radar targets, voice recording, etc, etc.

Voyage data recorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Duda ko human error ang cause aning tragedy. Imbestigahi ninyo ang competence sa mga officers aning duwa ka mga barko. Basig makita ninyo kung unsa sila.

[loucellmar]

So gamay ra diay ang ma agi.an ani nga route nganu d man sila mag pa hinay? Usa pud sa sakit sa pinoy d mu angkon ug sayop.

[crossramz]

apil ang super cat sa suspension?

[Kristiano]

So gamay ra diay ang ma agi.an ani nga route nganu d man sila mag pa hinay? Usa pud sa sakit sa pinoy d mu angkon ug sayop.

This is Alibi in Court... sa makalusot lng...

- - - Updated - - -

Para walay hugas kamot maayo i-implement sa Marina nga ang mga interisland vessels nato over 3000 gross tons butangan pud ug VDR (Voyage Data Recorder). Murag blackbox ni siya sa eroplano nga ga-record sa tanang navigational activities sa barko incldg radar targets, voice recording, etc, etc.

Voyage data recorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Duda ko human error ang cause aning tragedy. Imbestigahi ninyo ang competence sa mga officers aning duwa ka mga barko. Basig makita ninyo kung unsa sila.

dapat ma taud ni sa tanang barko para maklaro ang investigation....

[kreik101]

I was in the Trans Asia vessel bound for CDO that night. kita jud ko sa 2GO nga ni labay sa amung luyo nya nabanggaan sa gasunod ang cargo vessel namo.
Ni waray2x pami sa mga tao sa 2GO.. kay sila nakig babay man sad sa amo. daan pato weird kay duol2x ra ilang pag labay sa amo.. taod2x kay kadungog mig kusog kaayu nga murag nibuto. nya kadungog nami sa pag syagit sa mga tao. nya ang barko ni sugod nag ka lubog na pawng ang suga.
ang mga tao sa barko ato kay ga hilak ga tanaw.. ang kanang sa salida ra makitan nakita namo sa among mga mata.
di naman daw mi ato kabalik pung pa sa crew kay ni full speed na ug layu ang tuyukanan ato nga part.

kato man daw na lane kay sugatanan jud to sa mga barko. although lapad kaayu nga part sa dagat mura ra daw kalsada ang lawm nga parte ato so dili ka liko dayun kay masangag man sad.

daghan kaayu mi ato wala katulog gabiuna, ni ana pagud to isa sa among crew nga abi jud nila kami ma banggaan pag una. may their souls rest in peace.

[stew_griff]

I was in the Trans Asia vessel bound for CDO that night. kita jud ko sa 2GO nga ni labay sa amung luyo nya nabanggaan sa gasunod ang cargo vessel namo.
Ni waray2x pami sa mga tao sa 2GO.. kay sila nakig babay man sad sa amo. daan pato weird kay duol2x ra ilang pag labay sa amo.. taod2x kay kadungog mig kusog kaayu nga murag nibuto. nya kadungog nami sa pag syagit sa mga tao. nya ang barko ni sugod nag ka lubog na pawng ang suga.
ang mga tao sa barko ato kay ga hilak ga tanaw.. ang kanang sa salida ra makitan nakita namo sa among mga mata.
di naman daw mi ato kabalik pung pa sa crew kay ni full speed na ug layu ang tuyukanan ato nga part.

kato man daw na lane kay sugatanan jud to sa mga barko. although lapad kaayu nga part sa dagat mura ra daw kalsada ang lawm nga parte ato so dili ka liko dayun kay masangag man sad.

daghan kaayu mi ato wala katulog gabiuna, ni ana pagud to isa sa among crew nga abi jud nila kami ma banggaan pag una. may their souls rest in peace.

ni apil mos rescue brad?