Nine killed as ship runs aground off Quezon, 42 passengers in stranded vessel in Surigao del Norte rescued

By Ronron
July 12, 2007

Nine people were killed while over a hundred others survived when a roll-on roll-off (roro) vessel ran aground near Quezon province before dawn of Thursday, officials said.

Meanwhile, in Surigao del Norte down south, a separate distress at sea was not as tragic as the 42 passengers aboard an inter-island ferry were safely rescued despite floating in the middle of the sea for over 24 hours.

Officials said M/V Blue Water Princess, owned and operated by AC-Joy Express Liner and Magic Blue Ferry, was sailing for Masbate province from Lucena City, Quezon when it ran aground at around 3 am yesterday (Thursday).

The 400-gross tonnage vessel was being manned by a 23-man crew and was carrying about a hundred passengers and 14 trucks loaded with cargoes.

It left the port of Lucena City at around 5pm Wednesday and was expected to arrive Masbate at around 5am yesterday.

However, at the vicinity of San Francisco town in Quezon, the vessel was met with huge waves, causing the trucks aboard it to slide to the right side. The tilting caused the vessel to hit ground and got stuck.

San Francisco Mayor Hernani Tan said the vessel ran aground some 500 meters away from the shoreline of Barangay Pagsangahan in said town.

Quoting the survivors, Tan said the tilting caused panic among the passengers of the vessel, prompting them to jump off to the sea.

He said those recovered dead drowned at sea and sustained injuries from the corals. Four of those who died were under the care of Tan, while the five others were at the neighboring town of San Andres.

Tan said his office has also accounted for 114 survivors, most of whom swam to the shore. The Region IV-A (Calabarzon) Office of Civil Defense (OCD), however, has 126 survivors, in its data.

Region IV-A OCD Director Vicente Tomazar noted that only 28 passengers are listed in the vessel’s manifest.

“We cannot just solely blame here the weather. There could be human error. So, let’s wait for the investigation,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Lt. Armand Balilo said.

Although typhoon “Bebeng” was inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, it did not touch land. Instead, it just caused rains and strong wind in southern Luzon and parts of Visayas as it triggered the southwest monsoon.

OCD Administrator Nathaniel Rabonza said the incident could not be categorically classified as an aftermath of “Bebeng” because there was no storm signal raised by the government weather station.

Rabonza said this was precisely the reason why the vessel was allowed to sail.

In Surigao del Norte, the MB Super Shuttle Ferry 10 suffered engine trouble while it was sailing Wednesday from Surigao City to Liloan, Southern Leyte.

The vessel, owned by Asian Marine Transport Corporation, left Surigao City at 7:15 am Wednesday and then encountered the problem about two hours later or at 9 am while at the vicinity of Sumilom Island, still part of Surigao City.

Initial assessment reveals that the engine failed to function because the fuel was diluted with water.

The PCG in Surigao City said it immediately sent a tugboat to tow the vessel in distress but returned about an hour later due to the strong wind and rough water.

It was only at around 3pm yesterday that all 42 passengers of the vessel was retrieved completely by a private vessel, ML News MPC 4, and brought to San Jose town in Dinagat Island. They are expected to be shipped back to Surigao City today (Friday) if the weather permits.

The rainy season this month has so far claimed five lives already when a landslide hit a portion of Mt. Diwata in Monkayo, Compostela Valley early this week./DMS