MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said yesterday that a Mass and flower offering will be conducted off Sibuyan Island before divers start retrieval operations for the remains of passengers and crew trapped inside the M/V Princess of the Stars.
Tamayo said they are now close to commencing phase two, which is the retrieval of the bodies of the victims inside the wreckage of the 23,000-gross ton ship, four months after the vessel sank.
“The divers have started survey operations last Thursday to determine the location of the bodies inside the ship. We are hoping that come Sunday, we would be able to proceed with the flower drop and Mass for the victims of the sea tragedy,” said Tamayo.
He said the schedule is still tentative and would depend on the progress of the survey being conducted by the divers from the salvage firm Harbor Star. “This is just our target.”
Mayor Nanette Tansingco of San Fernando, Romblon, said that there would be a thanksgiving Mass tomorrow for the successful removal of the toxic chemicals owned by Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) and Bayer Crop Science (BCS). “We would also pray for guidance from the Lord in retrieving the bodies,” she said in a statement.
Tamayo said that Harbor Star has already put in place a barge and tugboat and had deployed 25 divers at the site.
Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI), the ship’s owner, has placed its other vessel M/V Princess of Tacloban at the disposal of the Task Force Princess of the Stars (TF-POTS).
The SLI vessel will deliver the recovered bodies to the team of the National Bureau of Investigation that is waiting in Cebu. The NBI team is tasked to identify the bodies, which have been submerged in deep water for the past four months.
Princess of the Stars left the Port of Manila bound for Cebu when the vessel sank at the height of typhoon “Frank” last June 21 off Sibuyan Island in Romblon.
The ill-fated ship sailed into the eye of Frank and was hit by strong winds and waves and heavy rain before it capsized.
The PCG has put three of its ships on standby. It has also kept its Marine Environmental and Protection Unit (MEPU), Special Operations Group (SOG) and oil spill booms in the area as a precautionary measure.
More than 800 people were on board the vessel and the PCG said that at least 33 have survived, more than 200 bodies have been recovered and about 515 remained missing. The Princess of the Stars was said to have been the biggest ship that sailed domestic waters.