TAGBILARAN CITY -- More than 200 passengers and crewmen of MV San Ramon de Bohol have been stranded at sea for five hours now after one of the ferry's navigation wheels (timon) got stuck, one of the ship's owners said.

The ferry, owned by Lite Shipping Corp., left Cebu City port at 10 p.m. Sunday and was expected to arrive here at 3 a.m. Monday.

Ben Rizalde told the Philippine Daily Inquirer the ship was seven nautical miles off the coast of Carcar, Cebu and Cabilao Island, Bohol.

The shipping line has decided to call up one of its ferries, Lite Ferry 1, from Siquijor to rescue the passengers of San Ramon de Bohol but has to pass by the Cebu City port to load food for the stranded passengers and crew, Rizalde said.

San Ramon will be pulled by a tugboat back to Cebu after the pasengers have been transferred to Lite Ferry 1 that will sail to Tagbilaran City, he said.

The pasengers are expected in Tagbilaran by noon this Monday.