Cebuano ship captain missing

CEBU, Philippines - A cargo vessel captain who hails from Cebu has been declared missing after the ship sank off Antique province last Tuesday night.

According to a report of the Philippine Coast Guard – Western Visayas, Celso Rafols Jr., 54, remains missing along with crane operator Esmael Cabonce, 48.

Rafols is from Poblacion Punong, Samboan while Cabonce is from Cabadbaran, Butuan City.

The cargo ship, MV Vital 355 of Miravil Shipping Lines, reportedly sank late evening on November 11 at about 20 nautical miles northwest off Antique when it was battered by rough seas while travelling to Cuyo, Palawan from Carmen, Cebu.

It left Cebu at 11 a.m. on November 10 and was expected to reach Palawan at 7 a.m. on November 12. The ship was carrying 9,000 bags of cement.   The vessel registered a gross tonnage of 247 and net tonnage of 158.

Rafols’ stepson, Kevin Engreso, 24, told The Freeman that his stepfather was still able to contact them via mobile phone moments before the reported time of sinking.

“He was able to call my mama (Editha Rafols) November 11 in the evening and said the seas were rough. After that, we could not reach him anymore. mama got worried when he did not call again by the time they were supposed to arrive in Palawan. Then a relative of the vessel owner called us that the vessel sank and papa is one of the two missing,” Engreso said.

His “papa,” though not his real father, was good to them and treated his other sibling as his own.

“He has five children with my mother. We are two from my real father. Despite our setup, he does not make us feel that he does not love us. My mama is always crying especially when she talks to her and his relatives over the phone. She even went to MARINA today (yesterday) to ask them why the local officials here did not reach us. It was the shipping line which informed us. No local authorities here in Cebu contacted us,” he added.

While remaining optimistic that Rafols is still alive, Kevin said their family is getting ready for any possible scenario.

“It’s been two days. He could be dead. Or maybe he was saved by someone and stayed there for a time. Hopefully, we get to find answers soon,” he said.

Fishing banca Macoy chanced upon the sunken cargo vessel at 5:30 a.m. of November 12 and was able to rescue 11 crew members. — /JMO (FREEMAN)