Still no sight of shipwreck,18-crew members in Batangas

Efforts to locate the wreckage of MV Starlight Atlantic continued with 18 crew members still missing from the accident triggered by Typhoon “Nina” (international name: Nock-ten) this week.

The Philippine Navy has started using sonar or underwater search to comb the waters of Batangas province, where the ship sank off Tingloy town before Monday noon.

Asked whether the missing crew members could have been trapped inside the vessel, Glenn Tabanao, a representative of the shipping line, said: “It’s a possibility.”

The cargo-passenger roll on, roll off (Ro-Ro) vessel that plied the Batangas-Calapan City (Oriental Mindoro province) route sank after it was battered by strong waves as the typhoon crossed Southern Tagalog.

Reports said 33 people were onboard, of which 14 were rescued.

A cabin crew member, Lyca Banaynal, was confirmed to have died from the accident.

Quoting accounts of survivors, Tabanao said the ship listed when strong waves pounded it, prompting the ship captain to order the crew to “abandon ship.”

“It happened very fast,” Tabanao said in a telephone interview from Batangas port on Friday.

Tabanao said the last communication they received from the vessel was around 10:20 a.m. on Monday.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the vessel tried to “reposition” and was on its way to Barangay Mainaga in Mabini town when it capsized off Tingloy.

The sinking of the passenger vessel has also disrupted trips to Calapan City for the New Year.

“The queue [of passengers] is now a kilometer long,” Tabanao said.

“Efforts now are just focused on finding the vessel,” he said. —MARICAR CINCO