Ship-barge crash near Verde Island in Batangas hurts passenger

This photo from the Philippine Coast Guard shows the damaged passenger vessel MV Fastcat M19, which figured in a sea mishap with Barge Krizza Rica near Verde Island in Batangas province on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

MANILA, Philippines — Near Verde Island in Batangas province, a ship and a barge have collided, resulting in the injury of a male passenger, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Wednesday.

The sea mishap happened Tuesday between Barge Krizza Rica and MV Fastcat M19, some two nautical miles southeast of Barangay San Agapito in Verde Island, according to PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo.

Barge Krizza Rica was loaded with 300 sacks of cement and had 17 crew members on board, while MV Fastcat M19 had 41 passengers on board, he added.

READ: Verde Island Passage faces new oil spill threat

The PCG official said the passenger vessel sustained damage on its right rear portion, while the barge had scratches on its front left side.

Balilo also disclosed that the 26-year-old injured passenger “incurred lacerations on his upper right eye and upper right lip, with minor bruises” from the incident.

READ: PCG finds Filipino fishermen’s ill-fated boat a week after collision

As of 3 a.m. on Wednesday, MV Fastcat M19 was docked at Calapan Port in Oriental Mindoro, where all passengers safely disembarked.

The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office in Calapan transported the injured passenger to Oriental Mindoro Provincial Hospital for further medical assistance.

The PCG, meanwhile, performed an initial oil spill assessment at the crash area, which yielded a negative result.

The Verde Island Passage is known as the “center of global shorefish biodiversity” due to the area’s high densities of marine resources. It is a 1.14-million-hectare marine ecosystem located off the coastlines of Batangas, Romblon, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro provinces.