Passenger boat delayed after minor accident at Iloilo wharf

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A Bacolod City-bound passenger boat was delayed after it accidentally grazed the anchor of a dredger of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) at the Iloilo wharf late Thursday afternoon.

No one was reported hurt and the Weesam fastcraft continued with its trip later, Coast Guard Iloilo assistant station commander Venerando Celiz told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a telephone interview.

Celiz said the 252-seater passenger boat left the port of Iloilo around 4:45 p.m. when it grazed the dredger around 5 p.m. The passenger boat got a five-inch tear on its pilot house and had to return to port for an assessment of the damage.

The boat left for Bacolod City in Negros Occidental around 6 p.m. after the Coast Guard determined that the boat was fit for travel.

The PPA has been undertaking dredging operations at the wharf as part of rehabilitation efforts on the Iloilo River.