Bad weather strands 369 passengers in Bicol ports

Philippine Coast Guard. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

NAGA CITY–Nearly 400 passengers were stranded in Bicol ports Tuesday morning after a gale warning was raised along Southern Luzon’s seaboard due to rough weather, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Apprentice Seaman Jason Llanes of the Coast Guard in Bicol said 369 passengers were stranded in ports in Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate and Camarines Sur as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The state weather bureau warned sea travelers in the Bicol region of strong to gale force winds associated with the northeast monsoon and Tropical Storm “Seniang” (international name Jangmi).

Llanes said there were 147 stranded passengers at the port in Pasacao, Camarines Sur; 25 at the Legazpi City port, and 67 at the Pio Duran port, both in Albay; 23 at three Masbate ports; and 107 in Bulan, Sorsogon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned fishing boats and other small sea crafts against venturing out into the sea while larger sea vessels were alerted about big waves after “Seniang” was located southeast of Mactan, Cebu.

Seniang packs maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.

Llanes said PCG prohibited small sea vessels below 250 gross tons and fast crafts from sailing out of the ports due to rough waves since early Tuesday as rains have been pouring without letup along with strong winds since early this week.

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