Cebu Coast Guard suspends sea trips  to areas under ‘Quinta’

CEBU CITY –– The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Cebu Station on Sunday suspended trips of all types of sea vessels to areas under tropical cyclone warning signal due to Typhoon “Quinta.”

Alvin Dagalea, acting commander of PCG-Cebu, said the move was done to avoid maritime accidents.

“Sea trips will resume when the weather and sea condition in affected areas improve,” he said.

On Sunday, the PCG rescued all 16 crew members of MV Good Fortune cargo ship which encountered engine trouble 8.5 nautical miles east of Ubay in Bohol on Saturday night.

The ship, which was carrying 1,640 metric tons of cement, was on its way to Bicol from the City of Naga, south Cebu.

On Monday, the PCG rescued ten other people after they got stranded on a motor banca for 12 hours due to strong winds and waves.

A report from the PCG said MBCA Chester 1 was carrying 10 people, including two crew members, as it went on an island-hopping on Olango Island around 12:30 p.m. of Oct. 25.

MBCA Chester 1 opted to anchor off Marigondon on Mactan Island for safety. The passengers, however, were not able to disembark because of the huge waves.

Around midnight on Monday, all passengers and crew members of MBCA Chester 1 were rescued by the PCG personnel. None of the passengers were injured.