GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE) If Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez is right, the fight between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and American Sugar Shane Mosley indirectly caused a cargo ship to run aground seven kilometers off the coast of Kiamba town in Sarangani province last Sunday.
The 224-meter, Panama-registered Australian ship was on its way to India to deliver 66,000 tons of coal when it sailed into shallow waters and got stuck in a protected coral reef.
Dominguez said he suspected the only reason the ship sailed close to shore was that its crew, mostly Filipinos, wanted to pick up clearer television signals.
“I have a feeling they sailed close to the shore to watch the fight,” Dominguez told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the initial findings of the Coast Guard, which blamed human error for the ship’s running aground, might support his theory.
He said ships sailing to India from Australia via waters off Sarangani have always stayed away from the shore.
Meanwhile, Dominguez said the provincial government was preparing to file charges against the owner of the vessel as did not only pose the danger of oil leak but damaged a protected coral reef that it smashed into as it ran aground.
He said he was just waiting for the technical report from the Coast Guard before filing the complaint.
Dominguez local authorities were closely watching the cargo ship because it might leak oil that could further compromise the waters near Kiamba.
“The area where the accident happened is part of the Sarangani protected seascape. We have sent scuba divers, together with representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Coast Guard to survey the area and to determine the extent of damage,” Dominguez said.
He said an action plan was already being finalized in the event that an oil spill occurs.
Scuba diver and environment advocate John Heitz told the Inquirer that the ship could be towed when high tide comes this weekend.
He said based on their ocular inspection, the ship dug itself three meters deep into the reef.
“They need the hide tide to float the ship. The next high tide is expected to happen this weekend,” Heitz said.