CEBU CITY, Philippines?Another inter-island ship stalled for a few hours off Leyte early Monday due to engine trouble.

The MV Filipinas Iloilo arrived here at 12:30 p.m. on Monday instead of 6 a.m. as scheduled, after its defective lube oil pump was repaired, said Lieutenant Michell Ursabia, information officer of the Coast Guard District in Central-Eastern Visayas.

It was carrying 286 passengers and 41 crewmembers when it left Maasin City in Southern Leyte at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Ursabia said.

The main engine of the ship, owned by Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc., conked out at about midnight on Sunday at Tagus Point in Matalom town in Leyte, he said.

Ursabia said the passengers were informed of the situation to avoid panic while crew members headed by Captain Rogelio Mutia were fixing the pump. Repair was completed at 5:30 a.m.

A marine protest was expected to be filed by Mutia so the Coast Guard would know what caused the problem.

Maristel Letigio, officer-in-charge of Maritime Industry Authority in the region, suspended the ship?s safety certificate as part of standard operating procedures so that it could not sail without passing the safety inspection by Marina.

Marina safety engineer Mardon Martin said the lifting of the suspension order would depend on how the Cokaliong management would act on the problem of the vessel.

Three days earlier, the MV Butuan Bay I of the Carlos A. Gothong Shipping stalled off Plaridel town in Misamis Occidental after its engine died from a leaking O-ring while sailing from Mandaue City to Iligan City via Ozamiz City.

The vessel proceeded to Ozamiz after repair.