Mactan channel collision: Cause of incident still unknown

CEBU, Philippines - Why the SuperCat vessel collided with a barge at the Mactan Channel late Saturday night is a question that will not be answered soon.

Yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard told reporters a full blown investigation into the incident will commence only after the captains of the two vessels file their respective marine protests, a document that details their version of the incident.

"We cannot say yet as to who was at fault because we still have to have the marine protest of both parties," said John Manuel Alip, deputy commander of the Coast Guard in Cebu.

As of 8:30 last night, either party has not filed a protest with the Coast Guard.

The M/V St. Braquiel of SuperCat Fastferry Corporation was carrying 90 passengers from Ormoc City when it hit the barge of SMC Shipping and Lighterage Corporation at the vicinity of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge at past 10 p.m.

The incident occurred barely 10 minutes before the fast craft would reach Pier 4 in Cebu City.

The collision left 58 passengers injured, 23 of which, including the ship captain, are now confined at the Cebu Doctor's Hospital, Chong Hua Hospital, and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

In a press conference Sunday, Alip said that because the Cebu harbor is a busy lane, vessels plying the Mactan Channel can only travel at a maximum speed of five knots.

It was found that the barge was cruising at 2.8 knots, which is below the speed limit. The barge, which carried empty beer bottles, was travelling from Estancia, Iloilo toward the SMC wharf in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City.

Accounts

Some of the passengers of the SuperCat vessel shared different accounts of the incident, but said they were all certain it collided with another vessel.

“Kusog kaayo ang impact sa pagbangga, nangalagpot gyud mi sa atubangan. Hasta ang mga lingkuranan, na-push forward sad,” Alex Estrada Batallones, one of Cebu’s well-known Zumba instructors, told The FREEMAN.

Batallones posted several photos and videos of the incident on his Facebook account, which were shared widely in minutes. As of this writing, his posts have gained more than 900 reactions and close to 6,000 shares.

“Dugay kaayo ang rescue, naabtan gyud to’g almost one hour. Naglisod mi’g ginhawa kay ang napaw'ng man ang aircon” he said further, adding, “Napangos ko sa akong mata dapit tungod ato. Na-trauma jud ko.”

A friend of Batallones, fellow Zumba instructor France Osalla, said in a Facebook post that he thought the vessel would explode.

“Gitagaan pa tawon mi’g taas nga kinabuhi ni Lord,” he wrote, appealing to the captain of their vessel to not sleep as he is the “master of our souls,” he said.

Another passenger, Carlito Mabatid, told The Freeman, “Naa'y barge nag-una namo. Nilikay man tong SuperCat, pero uwahi na. Bangga gyud, naa gyud sa among atubangan, napasok gyud."

Several passengers are eyeing the possibility of filing a complaint against the vessel’s company.

Rescue

In a statement released yesterday, Nagiel Bañacia of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said “passengers sustained laceration wounds and fractured injuries in various parts of their bodies including its Captain Reniero Maurin after they were thrown away from their seats due to the strong impact upon collision.”

“We immediately organized an Incident Management Team (IMT) as responders from Cebu City -QRT, Cebu City Ambulance Services, ERUF, Red Cross, Bantay Mandaue, USCERT, REAVO Cebu Chapter, and RAPID, BFP, Philippine Coast Guard, AMRO, CCPO, CPA, PNP Maritime and Philippine Navy responded to the alarm,” Bañacia said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, Raffy T. Cabristante and Dale G. Israel/JMO (FREEMAN)