MANILA, Philippines—The Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) Monday heard testimony that the captain of the capsized MV Princess of the Stars had informed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that he was using another route to Cebu, away from the path of an approaching typhoon.
Cmdr. Erwin Balagas, head of the PCG Manila station, testified that the ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc. was allowed to sail from Manila on the night of June 20 after Capt. Florencio Marimon presented his plan to avoid Typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen).
Balagas said that his personnel called him up to tell him about Marimon’s alternate route—going west of Tablas Strait, down to the west of Panay and Negros Oriental and then up to Cebu, his final destination.
The following day, on June 21, the Princess of the Stars, with more than 860 people aboard, capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province, which is east of Tablas. Only 56 people survived the disaster. Around 200 bodies had been recovered. The others remain unaccounted for, including Marimon. Hundreds are believed trapped inside the ferry.
Balagas’ testimony came when he was asked why the PCG did not stop the 23,800-ton ship from leaving despite the weather—Signal No. 1 was up in Manila and Signal No. 2 along the ship’s usual route to Cebu. Under existing regulations, vessels of the Princess of the Stars’ tonnage are only prevented from sailing if Signal No. 3 is hoisted at its point of origin, route or destination.
BMI member Demetrio Ferrer asked if the alternative path was not covered by the danger zone quadrant.
“No, sir. The danger zone is far from the path of the ship,” Balagas replied.
Balagas also said captains were not required to put the alternative routes in their Master’s Oath of Safe Departure, which is submitted to the PCG. He said that the contingency route was relayed to him verbally, and that he trusted his boarding team because its members knew the ships well.
PCG urged postponement
In an interview with reporters, PCG boarding officer PO1 Felix Sardan, who inspected the Princess of the Stars, said he had recommended to Marimon to postpone the voyage because of the weather. Marimon reportedly replied that he had plotted an alternative safe route.
Sardan said he agreed with Marimon’s alternative route even though it would prolong the voyage by about four hours. But he also said that he thought that the ship could have taken its regular route along Romblon and Masbate because only Signal No. 2 was up there.
Sardan pointed out that a ship the size of the Princess of the Stars could easily withstand such a weather condition.
Constante Farińas, Manila North Harbor port district manager, testified that his agency did not give clearance for ships leaving port, saying this was a PCG responsibility.
Expanded probe rejected
Also Monday, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella rejected demands to expand the House inquiry into the Princess of the Stars tragedy to cover 44 other sea mishaps in the last 28 years involving other vessels of Sulpicio Lines. The House inquiry resumes on July 17.
“I don’t think we should dwell on the past. We should focus on the future and craft laws that would help avoid similar tragedies later on,” said Puentevella, chair of the transportation committee.
Puentevella said he was more concerned about getting into the bottom of the latest sea tragedy, despite a news report, mainly sourced from Lloyd’s Maritime Information Database, that Sulpicio Lines had been involved in 45—not just four—sea mishaps since 1980.
He said representatives of the shipping company would be placed first in the hot seat at the next hearing. Also to be questioned are officials of Del Monte Inc., the company which owned the toxic pesticide that sank with the passenger vessel, he said.
Puentevella said he would also present a draft of a bill creating a Transport Safety Board, a “super body” that would oversee maritime operations in the country.
Pet project not new
Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon said Puentevella’s pet proposal was not new, citing a 2007 measure proposing the creation of a Philippine Maritime Commission.
“This bill has never been heard by the committee it was referred to, which ironically, is the one conducting an inquiry into the Princess of the Stars tragedy,” Biazon told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a text message.
Reacting to reports that Sulpicio Lines had been involved in 45 sea disasters in the past, Sen. Richard Gordon told reporters that nobody had been punished enough previously because investigators were not qualified.
“We have to tighten the admiralty courts, they should all be professionals, it should be firm, fair and severe. Justice should first be served before mercy,” Gordon said.
Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross that joined rescue and recovery efforts for the sunken ship, said that investigators “must not only have excellent seamanship, they must have no fear or favor in judging the situation, they must have political will and judicial will.”
“Let us not fix the blame but fix the problem first,” the senator said, urging that results of the investigations should be awaited. He stressed that Sulpicio Lines should not be exempt from paying for the damages caused by the sinking.
Safety system probe urged
Sen. Manuel Roxas II is pushing for a broader probe on the disaster to include not only the ferry’s undeclared cargo of pesticide for Del Monte Philippines but also the status of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) which was put into effect a decade ago to prevent maritime disasters.
“It is a mystery why a contract between the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Thomson CSF NCS-France penned in 1998 for the purchase of a GMDSS has not yet materialized. We in the Senate will not let this grave sin of omission pass,” Roxas said.
The GMDSS is a ship distress and safety communications system that requires all passenger and cargo ships over 300 tons on international voyages to be equipped with satellite and radio communications for sending and receiving distress alerts and for general communications.
A 2006 audit report showed that Thomson abandoned the project in 2006 due to a billing dispute.
