Passenger ship collides with barge off Mactan

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A passenger vessel owned by Lite Shipping Lines collided with a barge around 3 a.m. on Wednesday off Bantolinao point, Lapu-Lapu City, some 1.6 nautical miles from the  the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.

All 221 passengers and 44 crew members of the MV Lite Ferry 8 were safe, said Cebu Coast Guard station commander Rolando Punzalan. The three crewmen of the barge Iron Man 1 were all right, Punzalan added.

Punzalan said the MV Lite Ferry 8 was scheduled to dock at the Cebu port t 4 a.m. Wednesday but it reached Pier 4 at 4:45 a.m. It left Ormoc City in Leyte at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Punzalan said his office was still waiting for a formal marine protest to be filed by the Lite Ferry 8’s skipper, Sergio Gerodias. But initially, Punzalan said, Iron Man 1 was just anchored in the area when it was hit by the passenger vessel.

Punzalan said the Lite Ferry 8 sustained a minor dent on its left forward side while there was no sign of any damage to the barge. Nonetheless, he added, Coast Guard divers went to the site to more closely examine the barge, which was still anchored in the area.