Coast Guard refloats Viet cargo ship that ran aground in Legazpi

THE RICE CONSPIRACY. This photo of the Vietnamese vessel Minh Tuan 68 at the Legazpi anchorage area on Friday was supplied by the Coast Guard-Bicol district. About six weeks ago, smuggled rice from India was also seized.

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay—The Philippine Coast Guard succeeded Monday in refloating  the 2,999-ton Vietnamese cargo ship that was washed ashore Saturday in Barangay San Roque, two kilometers from the city proper, by strong waves spawned by Tropical Storm Gorio.

Commodore Aaron Reconquista, PCG commanding officer in the Bicol region, said the Coast Guard finally pulled the vessel out of the beach during high tide at 10:45 p.m. on Monday, the second day of retrieval operations.

Reconquista said in a text message that the “MV Minh Tuan, while its engine was running, managed to pull out by its own propulsion,” while two tug boats were on standby to assist the cargo ship.

Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal provided four drums of diesel fuel to start up the engine of the cargo vessel while some 4,000 liters of diesel used by the two tug boats were supplied by the Bureau of Customs.

Reconquista said within 15 minutes the cargo ship was able to drop anchor at its previous anchorage, 500 meters off this city.

Five divers from a Coast Guard special unit were to conduct on Tuesday an underwater survey to check possible damage  to the vessel.

The PCG and BOC here were to meet to decide whether the Vietnamese vessel, owned by Ming Truong Shipping Lines, would be brought to the safety of Sula Channel, a cove in Barangay Sula, Bacacay, Albay, 22 kms from the city.

Leovigildo Doyoja, BOC Legazpi customs collector, said in a telephone interview his agency would not object to the transfer if the PCG could guarantee the ship would not escape.

The MV Minh Tuan 68 has been impounded by the BOC and PCG since September last year after it entered the city port with 94,000 bags of rice smuggled from Vietnam.

Doyoja said his office has spent over P4 million in anchorage fees for the cargo ship and rental for the warehouse where the smuggled rice is being kept.

He said the vessel would continue to be held while the auction of the cargo remains suspended pending resolution of a case under evaluation by the BOC legal department in Manila.