3 ways to refloat ship; pros, cons for each
By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:26:00 07/04/2008
Filed Under: Sulpicio ferry disaster, Maritime Accidents
MANILA, Philippines—A task force has identified three possible ways to refloat the MV Princess of the Stars which sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on June 21 at the height of Typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen).
Elena Bautista, transportation undersecretary for maritime affairs, said the options were the following:
• Turn the vessel over.
• Tow it toward shallower waters.
• Tow it toward deeper waters and then refloat it.
“There are pros and cons for each. For example, towing the ship to shallower waters could destroy the corals on the sea bed. There are many considerations. That’s why Sulpicio has to get a salvor to guide the final procedure,” Bautista said.
Task Force Princess of the Stars has given Sulpicio Lines Inc. until the weekend to hire a salvor to refloat the ship.
Bautista said the task force would like to have a refloating plan by next week because salvaging operations could take about three months.
There are pressing health concerns posed by the sunken ship’s cargo such as endosulfan, a highly toxic pesticide.
To address this, the government will keep a fishing ban in San Fernando town in Romblon. Fishing is allowed in other parts of the province, which is made up of island-towns.
“Our first priority is to protect human lives. Our next priority is the environment,” Bautista said.
She also announced that the Joint United Nations Environment Program/Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Environment Unit had offered “to help mobilize experts for sampling, technical advice and response to other related environmental emergencies.”
She said the task force would still seek help from the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund in gathering more data to help it review the advisory.
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