Passengers of ship that ran aground reaches Palawan destination

MANILA, Philippines — The passengers of a ship that ran aground off Coron, Palawan over the weekend safely reached their destination on Monday, and those who chose to disembark received compensation.

A total of 630 passengers reached their intended destination as MV Saint Francis Javier resumed normal operations and docked at the port of Puerto Princesa at 12:24 p.m., transport company 2GO said.

MV Saint Francis Javier ran aground on Saturday, 4 p.m. about one nautical mile away from Coron town, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

READ: Cargo passenger vessel runs aground in Palawan 

PCG said the passenger ship experienced engine trouble while departing Coron and bound for Puerto Princesa City.

“During its undocking maneuver, the vessel lost all power and was left dead in the water so the crew anchored the ship to prevent it from drifting,” the PCG said in a statement on Sunday.

“While engineers worked on restoring power, the vessel’s stern ran aground in a shallow area near the pier due to low tide. The power was restored at 10 p.m., but the ship remained immobilized as the stern was still grounded,” it added.

The PCG said hundreds of passengers disembarked to Coron, and the transport company said they were compensated.

“Passengers who stayed in Coron were provided meals and were offered alternative means to travel to Puerto Princesa, and option to refund or revalidate their ticket,” said 2GO.

Meanwhile, 2GO said Coron and Manila-bound passengers from Puerto Princesa are also expected to depart the port at 5:30 pm on Monday, with the ship estimated to arrive at the port of Coron at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The transport company said affected passengers were informed of the changes in travel time.