After re-audit of Sulpicio vessels: Marina allows 2 ships to sail

Two of the eight passenger-cargo vessels in the fleet of Sulpicio Lines Incorporated that were grounded for almost two months after the sinking of its flag ship MV Princess of the Stars have already been given the go signal to sail by the Maritime Industry Authority after passing the re-audit.

Lawyer Maria Victoria Florido, counsel for Sulpicio Lines Inc., said the company received the lifting order from Marina last Tuesday afternoon allowing MV Princess of the Earth and MV Cotabato Princess to sail.

In a related development, the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) also released its initial findings into the sea tragedy blaming the ship captain for the sinking of the vessel.

Florido said the two vessels have passed the re-audit conducted by Marina. She said the re-audit of the six other passenger vessels has also been finished.

Although the grounding order for MV Princess of the Earth and Cotabato Princess has been lifted, Florido said, these vessels vessels would not be sailing just yet.

The lawyer said that the company will have to first re-hire the crew of the two vessels, who were laid off when operations ceased.

“That will be the priority of the company because we value them very much,” Florido told radio station dyLA.

It was not however clear whether these two vessels can now carry passengers, because Florido said she has not been furnished copy of the order yet.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier allowed Sulpicio Lines vessels to resume operation after passing the re-audit, but only for cargo operations.

Arroyo’s order was made to Marina during her dialogue with the ship owners in Cebu last month. Ship owners petitioned to the president to allow Sulpicio to resume its operations because of several complaints from businessmen that their cargoes are piling up in the different ports because of lack of vessels to ferry them.

At least 10,000 20-footer container cargo vans have been reported to be piling up in various ports around the country since the shipping company ceased operations.

Marina grounded all the SLI vessels after the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island last June 21.

Hundreds of its passengers and crew remain missing until now while many of the bodies recovered from the ill-fated ship have remained unidentified.

The vessel sailed from Manila to Cebu amidst the typhoon Frank, which already threatened the provinces within the route of the ship. In fact, storm signal number three has already been hoisted by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration.

Some of the families of the victims have already filed civil case for damages against the management of Sulpicio. Nine cases have been filed in Manila while three cases were filed in Cebu City last Tuesday.

The Public Attorney’s Office vowed that five more cases will be filed today.

Sulpicio Lines, however, has not yet received any formal order from MARINA for the two vessels to resume operations.

Captain’s Fault

A member of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) disclosed yesterday that based on the initial findings, the captain of the M/V Princess of the Stars may have committed an error in judgment that caused the passenger ship to capsize.

Captain Demetrio Ferrer, BMI vice chairman and spokesman, told reporters that Captain Florencio Marimon Sr., skipper of the ill-fated ship, failed to act and apparently caused the tragedy that killed more than 200 persons while about 600 more are still missing.

Marimon, a master mariner and considered as one of the best skippers of Sulpicio Lines, allegedly failed to save the lives of his crew, the passengers and the ship as well. Marimon is reported to be one of the missing crew.

“The vessel has reached the so-called position where the master had to take his extra ordinary diligence and must undertake his overriding authority, as we call it, to take evasive action to save the vessel and the lives (of the crew and passengers on board). But, in a way, he failed,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer said the ship passed through the eye of Typhoon “Frank” and capsized due to strong winds and waves at off Sibuyan Island in Romblon.

“What vessel could sustain that kind of weather condition, 40-feet of sea (waves) and about 150 (kilometers per hour) wind force? The very root cause (was that) there was an error in judgment, as what we have said, on the part of the master. That is the primary root cause and the others are supposed to be contributory factors of negligence and complacency,” he added.

The six-man board is also still studying the possibility if the ship owner SLI committed any contributory error. “We still have to find out and decide.”

   The BMI official, however, said that this is only their initial finding and it would still have to be finalized before it is submitted to Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Ferrer said that they are also checking on the load of the vessel during a stormy weather.

“We are looking at the stability of the vessel, the maximum angle of inclination that a vessel could sustain, if sea water would enter the ship.”

When asked if the there was sufficient ballast or if there was enough water to counterbalance the weight of the ship, Ferrer said, “There is existing ballast and I can say that it did not thoroughly affect the stability of the vessel.” 

He said the ship was able to run smoothly from the time it left the Port of Manila on June 20 at 8 p.m. until the maritime incident that occurred just before 12 noon the next day.

As for the cargo lashings, Ferrer said, that while there is no certainty that some of the cargoes have gotten loose from its lashings, considering the weather condition prevailing at that time.  —with Cressida Paula G. Delmo and Philippine Star News Service/NLQ