Del Monte asked why it didn't say cargo toxic
By Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:23:00 07/05/2008
MANILA, Philippines--The Coast Guard's Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) has summoned representatives of Del Monte Philippines Inc. to respond to the accusation that it had declared a container van of endosulfan on board the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars as ordinary cargo.
Rear Adm. Benjamin Mata, the BMI vice chair, said the board would ask the Del Monte representatives to present documents covering the cargo of endosulfan, a highly toxic insecticide.
"We also request Sulpicio Lines Inc. to provide us documents pertaining to the dangerous shipment," Mata said at Friday's hearing.
He said the BMI would likewise summon representatives of Bayer Philippines and its broker for questioning on their own shipment of crop protection chemicals.
"Bayer informed us that they had certain chemicals on board [the ship] that were considered dangerous," he said.
According to Sulpicio Lines cargo operations officer Tomas Gutierrez Jr., the pesticide cargo was considered an ordinary shipment because of the absence of stickers or signs indicating that it was dangerous.
Gutierrez said dangerous shipments such as toxic chemicals were loaded on Sulpicio Lines' cargo ships.
But because Del Monte did not indicate that endosulfan was highly dangerous, the pesticide was transported on board the passenger ship, he said.
Transit cargo
"In all of their documents, [Del Monte] did not refer to endosulfan as highly toxic. So we were not able to segregate the shipment containing the substance and load it in another cargo vessel instead of the Princess of the Stars," Gutierrez said.
He said the pesticide, which was imported from abroad, had been classified as transit cargo.
"Transit cargoes are usually rushed to their destination. Originally, the [endosulfan] shipment was supposed to be transported via the Princess of Paradise, but we decided to load it onto the Princess of the Stars which was leaving earlier," he said.
Victoria Lim-Florido, Sulpicio Lines lawyer and spokesperson, stressed that it was the duty of the shipping line to get cargo to its destination at the earliest possible time.
"There was an indication from the shipper (Del Monte) to rush the cargo," Florido said.
Edgar Go, Sulpicio Lines first vice president and owner, said the company learned that the ship was carrying highly toxic chemicals from news reports after the June 21 sinking of the Princess of the Stars.
"We immediately called up the shippers, and they admitted that those were indeed chemicals," Go told the BMI.
When asked by BMI members why the company did not research on the ill effects of endosulfan, Sulpicio Lines legal counsel Arthur Lim said a check with online and print sources yielded only highly technical definitions of the substance.
15-day deadline
In an interview with reporters, Mata expressed concern over the distribution of cargo weight inside the Princess of the Stars. He said the weight of individual cargo should have been indicated in the cargo manifest.
He added that the BMI was trying its best to come up with findings and recommendations next week, in line with President Macapagal-Arroyo's directive for them to conclude the hearings in 15 days.
"We are trying to comply with the order, but we need a little more time," said Rear Adm. Ramon Liwag, the BMI chair.
Liwag said the board was planning to seek an extension from Ms Arroyo in order to come up with better recommendations.
He said the board was also planning to go to Cebu to interview survivors of the tragedy.
Emotional
"We need to talk to passengers who survived. So far we have only examined one of the ship's crew members who was able to escape death," Liwag said.
At the hearing, BMI member Commodore Amado Romillo lost control of his emotions while interrogating Sulpicio Lines safety officer Nelson Morales.
Romillo became upset when he learned that Morales left the company radio operator in Manila to contact the Princess of the Stars "during the most crucial hours from 1 to 6 a.m." of June 21, when Typhoon "Frank" was raging.
"Show your interest as the owner; that was your ship," Romillo told Morales, his voice breaking.
Turning to the board members, he said: "I'm sorry I got so emotional because of this."
Romillo said that as the safety officer, Morales had a job to make sure that ships were safe when at sea.
"Is that how you operate in Sulpicio?" he said.
Morales replied that he had made sure the ship was safe when it left the port.
With a report from Christian V. Esguerra
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