MANILA, Philippines—The MV Princess of the Stars may have been unstable when it sailed, thus dooming it to sink and capsize after being battered by big waves, a member of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) theorized Thursday.

The statements were aired by Commodore Amado Romillo, a representative of the private sector, at the ongoing investigation of the sinking.

According to Romillo, two of the four ballast tanks were empty, and two were filled. “It’s very obvious the ship sailed without the proper quantity of ballast,” he said.

Romillo’s testimony did not sit well with Sulpicio Lines Inc. lawyer Arthur Lim, who appealed to the BMI to suspend the announcement of its “tentative, individual findings.”

Lim said the company did not want to foster an environment that would encourage the clamor for the government to take over the shipping company.

The BMI chair, Rear Adm. Ramon Liwag, assured Lim that the board would conduct its investigation fairly.

Romillo questioned the stability of the Princess of the Stars after noting that data submitted by the company to the board showed that the ship was not holding the full ballast tanks that he said were supposed to serve as its permanent ballast.

Ballast tanks are used to stabilize the ship and are filled with or emptied of water as needed.

Romillo also cited “lapses in the management” of the Princess of the Stars.

He said the ship had only one form of communication—the single sideband radio—with the ports, and that there were certain hours when no one was manning the radio communication.

Thus, he said, the ship was unable to receive an important weather bulletin at 10 p.m. on June 20, the day it set sail.

Center of gravity

The Princess of the Stars sank at the height of Typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on June 21. It was en route to Cebu from Manila and was carrying more than 800 people and a cargo of the pesticide endosulfan on board. Only 57 survivors have been found.

Benjamin Eugenio, the port captain of Sulpicio Lines in Manila, said some ballast tanks had to be emptied to accommodate the cargo and ensure the ship’s stability.

But Romillo said the ballast was needed for continued stability, regardless of the cargo on board.

“If they discharge ballast in place of cargo, you change the center of gravity... Then you can’t consider the vessel stable. Thereby, you are risking the lives of passengers,” Romillo said.

Eugenio replied that selected tanks were full, but added that he did not have all the data about the ballast tanks with him. He assured the BMI that the data would be submitted soon.

Dead in the water

Romillo, who showed Eugenio the pictures of the upturned ship published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) and cited a Philippine Coast Guard report to him, said the vessel was dead in the water and was drifting after it capsized.

The pictures showed a portion of the ship’s bow protruding from the sea off Sibuyan.

Romillo also said it was buoyancy that kept a ship afloat, and this buoyancy could have been caused by the air in the empty ballast tanks.

“A ship will sink if there is continued ingress of water. But if there’s enough air left on board, that will keep the ship afloat even though she capsized,” Romillo said.

He said this could mean that the ballast tanks of the ship were empty when it sailed.

“What’s keeping her afloat is her empty ballast tanks. The reason the stern is lower is the cargo,” he said.

According to Romillo, the ballast should be calculated while the ship is at port, and not while at sea because such practice would be dangerous.

He said that because of the high center of gravity of the cargo, it appeared there was not enough weight down below, causing the ship to list when it was hit by strong waves.

If the ship had more weight below, it could have righted itself when hit by the waves, he said.

Rhetorical observation

But Lim objected to the airing of Romillo’s views.

He also countered Romillo’s statements, saying: “Maybe the vessel is afloat because it is resting on something, not because it is floating.”

He asked the BMI to suspend judgment on the ballast tanks and the ship’s stability given the government’s decision to refloat it.

“It’s purely speculative even when backed by scientific theory,” Lim said. “I don’t think it will be fair to make conclusions that certain things were done or not done.”

He also asked the BMI to consider that the ship “went right smack in the eye of the typhoon,” and that the tragedy was “very extraordinary.”

Lim pointed out that there was talk about the government’s takeover of Sulpicio Lines, and said he did not want Romillo’s views to coerce the public into thinking that the idea should be carried out.

He said Romillo’s statements about the ship were a “rhetorical observation.”

“So if the media will pick that up, everybody in the country will be agitating for the closure of Sulpicio. I don’t believe the board should be the instrument of a sinister plan anyone might have,” he said.

No knowledge of guidelines …

A crucial circular on the movement of vessels during heavy weather was one of the highlights of Thursday’s hearing, with Sulpicio Lines insisting that it had not seen the updated version of the guidelines issued by the Coast Guard.

Manila port captain Eugenio repeatedly told the BMI that he had “no knowledge” of the guidelines discussing the conditions during which a vessel could leave port during bad weather, and whose responsibility it was.

Only Signal No. 1 was raised in Manila when Princess of the Stars was allowed to leave port of Manila on June 20.

“Dapat alam ninyo bakit pinapaalis ang barko o hindi pinapaalis (You should know why a ship is allowed to leave or not),” Rear Adm. Benjamin Mata, the BMI vice chair, told Eugenio.

According to Eugenio, the Coast Guard is the “last authority” in allowing ships to sail during typhoons, as it approves the Master’s Oath for Safety Departure (MOSD) signed by the ship captain.

But according to the BMI, the Coast Guard merely “accepts” the MOSD and checks for violations.

...Or of 2007 circular

Sulpicio Lines lawyer Lim said he was aware of the previous circulars issued in 1996 and 1998 but did not know of the most recent issued last year.

Edgar Go, Sulpicio Lines vice president, likewise denied seeing the circular.

But the board pointed out that ship operators like Sulpicio Lines should have had a copy of such an important document.

Coast Guard safety officer Teotimo Borja said the latest version of the circular was discussed at a meeting attended by shipowners.

No toxic cargo

Erwin Balagas, the relieved Coast Guard station commander, quoted the ship’s captain as saying in the MOSD that the vessel was not carrying toxic cargo, when it actually held a 10,000-kilo cargo of endosulfan.

Sulpicio Lines has denied knowing that the cargo owned by Del Monte Philippines Inc. contained endosulfan.

Balagas added that the boarding team found no violations in the ship based on the MOSD, like having less than half of its passenger capacity of 1,992.

He said the 23,000-ton ship was allowed to sail based on Coast Guard guidelines allowing vessels of such weight to proceed to its destination even if Signal No. 2 had been raised.

In a separate interview, Engineer Nelson P. Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers, said it was also possible that the cargoes on board the vessel were not properly secured, causing them to be dislodged when big waves hit the ship.