Vessel traffic system, buoys eyed for Cebu port in wake of mishap

DESPITE having an international port, Cebu has no navigational buoys and Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) which would help manage maritime traffic.

“Here in Cebu, there is no VTMS which other ports like Manila, Batangas, and Cagayan de Oro have,” Commodore Gilbert Rueras of the Philippine Coast Guard said yesterday.

Rueras, chairman of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI), led the ocular inspection at the Lawis Ledge, the site of the collision between MV St. Thomas Aquinas and Sulpicio Express Siete last Aug. 16.

He was accompanied by SBMI members and the media who traversed the Lawis Ledge on board BRP Nueva Viscaya, a Coast Guard vessel.

“The presence of boyas (navigational buoys) would become part of our recommendation. If boyas were placed at the (Mactan) Channel, it will be easy for ships to navigate,” he said.

Rueras said steps were being taken to expedite the construction of a VTMS at the Mactan Channel.

At least three captains, thus far, told the SBMI that Sulpicio Express Siete was on the wrong maritime lane before and when it collided with St. Thomas Aquinas.

Capt. Vel Dumaguit of Ocean Jet 8 yesterday appeared before the SBMI to recount what happened while he was headed to the Cebu port moments before the sea collision happened.

Dumaguit said Sulpicio Express Siete was traversing the inbound lane or the path intended for vessels entering the Mactan Channel.

“My lane was occupied by Sulpicio (which was leaving the Mactan Channel). Sulpicio was really on the inbound lane. It obstructed my path. I tried to contact Sulpicio but no one answered me. So I decided to pass in between Sulpicio and another vessel (Trans-Asia),” he said.

Before the sea collision, Dumaguit said he heard someone from St. Thomas Aquinas communicating with a person from Sulpicio Express Siete.

“Aquinas requested for a port-to-port with Sulpicio through VHF Channel 16. During the first call, Sulpicio responded. But when Aquinas called Sulpicio for the second time, there was no response from Sulpicio,” Dumaguit said.

A Very High Frequency (VHF) radio allows captains and officers of vessels to communicate with each other. Anyone in the vicinity can hear communications through Channel 16.

Dumaguit said he never heard someone from Sulpicio Express Siete trying to call St. Thomas Aquinas.

Instead, Sulpicio Express Siete switched its VHF radio to Channel 12 when it communicated with Trans-Asia 9 who requested to overtake the passenger ship.

When Trans-Asia 9’s request was granted by Sulpicio Express Siete, Dumaguit said he decided to maneuver his vessel in between the two other ships to avoid collision.

Dumaguit said Sulpicio Express Siete was on his right when he passed by the passenger ship.

Noe Lastimada, a 38-year-old fisherman who saw the collision, said he was headed to the Lawis Lighthouse when he saw the Sulpicio Express Siete pass by him.

Lastimada said he didn’t hear horns from either ships and he only saw the two vessels colliding with each other.

He called other fishermen after seeing the passengers using their cell phones as flashlights to anyone at sea.

When asked by SBMI why he went to the Lawis Lighthouse instead of other areas in the sea, Lastimada said the lighthouse was the nearest area he can go to when Sulpicio Express Siete was approaching.

The lighthouse is situated beside the inbound lane or for vessels going inside the Mactan Channel. St. Thomas Aquinas was supposed to traverse the inbound lane but it was purportedly occupied by Sulpicio Express Siete. /Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Reporter