Cebu-bound passengers rescued from stranded ship

All 208 passengers, including patients, regional directors of national government agencies and Korean tourists, of the MV Weesam Express 8 vessel were rescued at sea off the coast of Lawis Ledge, Talisay City at past 10 p.m. last Saturday.

The MV Weesam Express 8 owned by SRN Fast Sea Craft was scheduled to arrive at 6:15 p.m. in Pier 4, Cebu City after departing from Tagbilaran City port in Bohol at 3:28 p.m last Saturday.

However the vessel ran aground in the shallow portion of the sea 15 minutes before its scheduled arrival after its propeller got caught in the seabed due to shallow waters, the Cebu Coast Guard station said.

Initial reports showed that ship captain Kim Caroro didn’t notice that the vessel already reached shallow waters because the lighthouse in the area was unlit.

Rescue efforts were reportedly delayed, said the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Alvin Santillana, the council’s executive director, said one of the passengers called them at 7:11pm to ask for assistance.

He said he tried contacting the Philippine Coast Guard, but they passed him around.

No lookout

Santillana stopped calling their office and asked his team to proceed to Talisay City.

He said they were dismayed when no members of the Coast Guard or Bantay Dagat were there to respond to the situation.

He then called the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) headed  by Cebu City Fire Marshal Anderson Comar.

“See, we even called up firemen to respond to a situation at sea. Because the coast had no guard, the sea had no lookout,” an infuriated Santillana said.

The Coast Guard reportedly sent a rescue vessel with a rubber boat to the stranded vessel.

The BFP sent rubber boats paddled by their personnel towards the MV Weesam 8, but it took them a while to reach the fast craft due to the strong current and rain.

It was almost 10 p.m. when a pumpboat, one Coast Guard vessel and the company’s Weesam Express 6 arrived near the stranded vessel.

Complaints

The passengers were then distributed to the three rescue boats which docked at three separate  port areas.

The tired and hungry passengers were welcomed by their families and friends who fetched them at the pier.

Although they were thankful for arriving safely, they could not help but complain about the delay of their rescue.

“We were okay. It’s just that a lot of passengers missed their flights. Some had connecting flights to Korea, some to other countries. But at least I’m glad we’re fine,” said Dr. Susana Madarieta, regional director of the Department of Health.

The passengers also complained that they weren’t informed about the vessel’s condition.

“’Please remain seated’ that was all that they told us. We didn’t know what to do. That’s why we panicked at first,” one of the passengers Richard Villahermoso said in Cebuano.

Comar said they borrowed a speedboat to transport other passengers including Regional Director Edward Villarata of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7).

At stake

But Daisy Syiecco, Weesam Express marketing manager, said their crew didn’t immediately announce the situation because they had to wait for Caroro’s go signal.

She apologized to the passengers for their inconvenience.

“We’re doing all that we can. We made sure we provided them with food. We will take care of the hotel accommodations and flight re-booking of all our passengers who missed their flights,” she said.

Syiecco said they are investigating the incident. Cebu Coast Guard Commander Rolando Punzalan blamed the ship’s captain for failing to notify them about their condition.

He said they were only informed about the incident by Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort staffer Dexter Llamas who got word from their clients who boarded the vessel.

Punzalan said they vessel’s crew called them up after 20 minutes.

The Coast Guard official said their office didn’t receive word from crews whose vessels were involved in previous sea accidents.

“I am very…very disappointed. Human lives are at stake here, they must informed us right away for a fast rescue effort,” Punzalan said.

Prioritized

He said they sent rescue boats to the site while military sent its Navy patrol boat.

All passengers arrived separately in the Aduana port, Pier 1, Pier 4, and Naval Forces Central’s Captain Veloso Pier in Lapu Lapu City between 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Aside from Madarieta, also rescued were acting regional director Efren Carreon of the National Economic Development Authority in Central Visayas (NEDA-7) who came from a meeting in Tagbilaran City.

Punzalan said some Koreans and other foreign tourists were among the rescued passengers.

He said two passengers who needed medical treatment in Cebu City were prioritized in the rescue effort.

Punzalan said their office issued a Maritime violation to the shipping company in relation to the accident.

If proven guilty, the shipping company will be fined with P10,000 and have their Seaman’s Identification and Record Book suspended.

Fix first

They will also be penalized with a suspension of its Qualification Document of Compliance (QDC).

MV Weesam 8 has a total passenger capacity of 270 and gross tonnage of 206.54.

Syiecco said the crew chose to check and fix their engine first before they called the port authorities for help.

“Before they called the coast guard, the Captain ordered the engine crew to dive and check if the problem can still be fixed,’ she said.

Syiecco said Caroro radioed them after the vessel hit some stones underneath the shallow waters.

She said the vessel ran aground  since it was low tide and the vessel was difficult to control due to the gusty wind.

Syiecco said Caroro was about to call the Coast Guard when the rescue boats came. With reports from Correspondent Edison delos Angeles and Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya