46 containers fall overboard in waters off Batangas

LUCENA City— The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has warned marine vessels to exercise extreme caution after 46 containers fell overboard from a cargo ship sailing in the waters off Calatagan, Batangas.

In a Thursday (Sept. 3) report, the PCG-Southern Tagalog District said M/V Span Asia 39 encountered rough sea conditions, with heavy and continuous rolling, at around 11 a.m. as it approached the waters off Calatagan.

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The vessel was reportedly navigating near Hamilo Point, about 1.5 nautical miles from the nearest shoreline, when its container lashings were reportedly loosened.

As a result, 30 of its 20-foot containers, 11 of its 40-foot containers and five open-type containers toppled into the sea, the PCG said. No reports have been released at presstime which describes the shipments lost in the waters. 

The PCG-Batangas station immediately issued a navigational warning to vessels operating in Batangas waters, urging them to maintain a safe distance from the floating containers and to take all necessary precautions to ensure safe navigation.

The PCG also deployed a drone to conduct aerial assessment, monitoring and verification of the reported locations of the containers.

At around 2 p.m., while M/V Span Asia 39 was maneuvering toward the Manila North Anchorage Area, another container fell overboard and subsequently sank, according to the report.

The PCG said BRP Malapascua, its 44-meter multi-role response vessel, would be deployed to accelerate search, drift-tracking and containment operations for the missing containers.

The Marine Environmental Protection Force-Southern Tagalog also identified key marine protected areas in the surrounding waters, including Taytayin Cove, Santelmo Cove, Pico de Loro (Cutad) Cove and Fuego Point Marine Sanctuary, for monitoring and mitigation of possible ecological and coastal impacts.

The PCG sub-station in Nasugbu was directed to establish on-scene command and control in the incident area and lead response operations, with assistance from the local government and the local bantay dagat (fish wardens).

According to the vessel’s master, M/V Span Asia 39 departed from the Davao International Container Terminal in Panabo, Davao del Norte, on Aug. 31, carrying 332 container units bound for Manila North Harbor./dp