Cebu Sea Mishap, Ship exec: We are cooperating

CEBU, Philippines - An official of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation, owner of the cargo vessel that collided with the ill-fated passenger ship MV Saint Thomas Aquinas, surfaced yesterday and belied allegations the company has not done anything to address the incident.

“From the start, we’ve been in coordination with 2GO. They know that we’ve expressed intentions of helping out in whatever way we could. They just tell us what they need and we will give them,” Span Asia representative Grant Go told reporters.

Go said they have been doing their part in rescue efforts but chose to shy away from the limelight. In fact, MV Sulpicio Express Siete, the ship that collided with the 2GO vessel, rescued about 100 passengers that fateful night, he said. 

Asked why Span Asia has not reached out to city and provincial officials, Go said they did not want to steal the scene from 2GO.

“We don’t want to step on 2GO’s foot, being the main concerned,” Go said.

Before facing the press midday yesterday, Go went on a closed-door meeting with Mayor Michael Rama and Lito Salvio,   2GO AVP for operations.

The mayor would later say he was very pleased to have the two in one meeting. Go and Salvio were said to be very professional, contrary to what Rama feared what would happen – a word ward and a blame game. 

“I’m glad they came and that nothing unpleasant happened,” Rama said in a separate press conference.

During the press briefing with the two shipping line representatives, Rama said that Go had expressed willingness to take part in actions to face and solve concerns especially with the oil spill, which has affected Cordova town.

“Both 2Go and Span Asia will help in addressing the oil spill. This is because all are concerned in solving this matter,” Rama said.

Meanwhile, 2GO said that the four Japanese technical divers from Nippon Salvage have arrived and are in close coordination with the Coast Guard and naval forces for the retrieval dive.

Another British consultant from International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) also arrived and has started site inspection particularly in Cordova to assess the extent of the oil spill.

Salvio thanked Rama for addressing the concerns of 2GO and relatives of casualties on the lengthy process of claiming the dead bodies by trimming the number of signatories. Acknowledging the efforts of Cebu City, Salvio urged Rama to organize a task force that would focus on addressing the environmental impact of the oil spill. – (FREEMAN)