MANILA, Philippines?The Philippine Daily Inquirer report that Sulpicio Lines Inc. has been involved in 45 maritime accidents in its 28 years in operation sparked outrage in the House of Representatives Sunday.

Speaker Prospero Nograles said the ongoing congressional inquiry into the latest of these tragedies?the June 21 sinking of MV Princess of the Stars that cost 800 lives?should be expanded to cover all sea mishaps involving Sulpicio Lines.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, chair of the appropriations committee, said Congress should take over the franchising of shipping lines and cancel Sulpicio Lines? operation.

?This is an act of recidivism on the part of Sulpicio,? he told the Inquirer, referring to the summary of accidents involving the company, as recorded in the maritime information database www.llyodsmiu.com and reported by the Inquirer newspaper (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on Sunday.

Since 1980, Sulpicio Lines vessels have reportedly been involved in seven sinking incidents and six collisions with other ships; six had caught fire, seven had engine problems and stalled at sea and 19 had run aground.

In a text message Sunday night, Sulpicio Lines spokesperson Victoria Florido said:

?Not all of the vessels in the Lloyd MIU list of incidents belong to Sulpicio Lines Inc. In the past 28 years, our vessels have logged over 50,000 voyages and the 45 reported incidents have to be taken in that context.

?Lloyd?s compilation includes minor incidents such as those that occur while contractors undertake repair work on drydocked ships or other vessels accidentally hitting our ships while stationed at port.?

Disregard of safety rules

Nograles described as ?disturbing? the company?s maritime safety record, saying it was an ?undeniable proof of Sulpicio Lines? reckless disregard for sea safety.?

He also blasted officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) for alleged negligence.

?This disturbing track record of Sulpicio only shows that the vessel operators and our maritime regulators have no regard for the safety of their ships and their passengers,? Nograles said. ?There can be no other explanation for that.?

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, co-chair of the joint congressional inquiry, had earlier said the final product of the hearing would be a bill creating a ?super body? covering all maritime industry stakeholders.

Tighten franchise rules

He said he would present a blueprint for what could later be called ?Transport Safety Board? during the resumption of the hearing on July 17.

Lagman said he would push for the tightening of procedures in the granting of franchise and certificates of public convenience to shipping lines.

?We have to make the process more adversarial,? he said. ?So far, it?s more difficult to secure a mayor?s permit for a sari-sari store in the corner than to get a certificate of public convenience.?

Nograles said investigating previous maritime incidents involving Sulpicio Lines would ?help us discover the lapses of certain water vessel operators and maritime officials in ensuring sea safety and the seaworthiness of every ship.?

?We should also look at the sea disasters from the time our DoTC, MARINA and shipping officials assumed their office so that we can see the pattern of competence of these personalities,? he said. ?They should be made to account for their negligence in the performance of their duties.?

One watchdog agency

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Sunday said all shipping watchdogs should merge into one body to ensure that unseaworthy vessels would not be allowed to sail.

Pimentel said ?finger-pointing? among the PCG, MARINA and DoTC had become the norm every time a disaster struck the shipping industry, but no company had been penalized and no concrete reform had been put in place to ground defective ferries.

?The Senate should collapse so many offices with diverse functions on our shipping industry and saddle responsibility on just one office to avoid buck-passing,? Pimentel said in a text message to the Inquirer.

?Not until the seaworthiness of its vessels is certified by the proper government agencies should Sulpicio Lines go on with its business,? Pimentel said.

Marina audit

In Cebu City, MARINA Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. Sunday announced that his agency had begun a comprehensive audit of all passenger and cargo vessels operating in the country to determine if they were complying with safety standards.

He said the audit started last month in Batangas but had to be stopped to allow auditors to inspect the vessels owned by Sulpicio Lines after the Princess of the Stars sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province during Typhoon ?Frank? (international code name: Fengshen) last month.

Suazo said Marina auditors were investigating Rolly Shipping Lines following complaints of deficiencies against the small inter-island shipping company based in Cebu.

He explained that the audit was not to find fault but to establish lapses so they can be corrected. The audit will be done in phases since it takes two to four days to audit one vessel, he said. If deficiencies are found, the vessels will be grounded. With a report from Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas