BMI calls on seafarer survivors to testify
Probe body, PCG to summon Del Monte
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:50:00 07/04/2008
Filed Under: Sulpicio ferry disaster
MANILA, Philippines -- The Board of Marine Inquiry investigating the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars is appealing to seafarers who survived the maritime tragedy to appear at its hearing on Saturday.
Rear Admiral Ramon Liwag, head of the BMI, said they need 10 to 15 survivors to help them understand what happened onboard the ferry before it sank.
The Sulpicio Lines-owned vessel, with more than 800 passengers and crew onboard, capsized and sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon on June 21 when it ran into typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen).
The Philippine Coast Guard and BMI said they would also summon Del Monte to respond to accusations of Sulpicio Lines’ operations officer for cargo that the fruit company had misdeclared dangerous goods, in this case the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan, as ordinary cargo.
Sulpicio Lines’ Tomas Gutierrez Jr. Gutierrez told a BMI hearing that the absence of signage on the cargo indicating it contained 10 tons of endosulfan prompted the shipping firm to load the shipment onto the MV Princess of the Stars instead of on a cargo vessel.
The BMI vice chairman, Rear Admiral Benjamin Mata, said the “seafarer survivors are important in the investigation because they have knowledge of the movement of the ship.”
Liwag said the board will shoulder the transportation and accommodation of survivors who appear before it.
But if the survivors cannot make it to Manila for the hearings, Liwag said the BMI will go to Cebu to take their statements.
The board hopes to finish its hearings and file its report by the end of next week.
Margaux Ortiz, Phil Daily Inquirer
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