2 ships run aground off Cebu; 531 crew and passengers safe

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Two vessels of a Cebu-based shipping company encountered trouble Sunday evening and Monday dawn while sailing at sea.

MV Trans-Asia 5 was stalled at 10 p.m. Sunday at the seas off Naga City, Cebu due to engine trouble while MV Trans-Asia 3 stalled at around 5:30 a.m. on Monday at the vicinity of Shell Island because of ‘oil starvation.’

MV Trans-Asia 5 left pier 5 of the Cebu City Port for Cagayan de Oro City at around 8 p.m. when its engine conked out while sailing at the vicinity of Naga City, said Captain Rolando Punzalan, commander of the Cebu Coast Guard station.

Punzalan said the company immediately tapped the services of two tugboats from Gothong Shipping and Malayan Towerage.

The first tugboat started to tow the vessel at 1 a.m. Monday and the second tugboat assisted at 7 a.m., he said. The vessel docked at the pier 5 at 10 a.m. Monday.

According to Punzalan, all 531 passengers and crew were safe.

On the other hand, the arrival of Trans-Asia 3, which was scheduled to arrive at 6 a.m. Monday at the Cebu City Port, was delayed by around two hours when the engine ran out of fuel.

The vessel, which left Ozamis City at 8 p.m. Sunday, was able to continue its trip after the crew refueled the engine with their fuel stocks. It arrived at pier 5 at 8:15 a.m. All its 188 passengers and 16 crewmen were safe.

The Coast Guard has yet to receive the marine protests that have to be filed by the ship captains of both vessels.

Punzalan said the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) was expected to re-inspect the two vessels before they could sail again.