Unrecovered bodies of Princess of the Stars likely in cabin rooms

MANILA, Philippines – Some of the passengers and crew who were trapped inside the sunken M/V Princess of the Stars most likely hid in the cabin rooms just before the vessel capsized near Sibuyan Island in Romblon last June 21 and this is where the divers would retrieve their bodies.

Rod Bella, project manager of the salvor firm Harbor Star, yesterday said that based on the initial report of their divers, it appeared that the remains of the victims were inside decks C and D of the 23,000-gross ton vessel.

“We have now started cleaning the debris and we already broke the glass windows in preparation for the removal of the bodies. Since the windows are broken, this would allow the old water which may already be contaminated with bacteria to come out and be replaced with new water,” said Bella.

He said as of yesterday afternoon, the weather in Sibuyan Island was fine and they hope this would continue so they can proceed with the removal of the bodies today.

When asked how the divers would gather up the bodies, believed to already be in advance stages of decomposition, Bella explained, “It would be very difficult for them to gather the bodies individually. It is very dark under water and we have poor visibility. Chances are we would just collect the bodies as practical as we can.”

The Harbor Star official explained that they might gather the remains in cluster and would just leave it up to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to segregate the remains when they identify the bodies.

Meanwhile, Transportation Undersecretary for Maritime Sector Ma. Elena Bautista, who is also the chairperson of the Task Force Princess of the Stars (TF-POTS), assured the public that phase two or the retrieval of the bodies would push through today after a 9:30 a.m. Mass and flower offering at ground zero or the site of the wreck.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said, “We are also concerned with the safety aspect of the divers. We would receive this morning from Harbor Star their report on the safety aspect and the emergency procedures that they will implement.”

They would push through with phase two even if the salvors have not fully removed all the toxic chemicals and hydrocarbons or bunker fuel from the ship.

“It is with a sigh of relief that we announce the completion of recovery of toxic chemicals, including the hydrocarbons (bunker fuel) from the Princess of the Stars. Though the following have not been recovered – half a kilo of trap, 10 kilos of antracol, 1 liter of tamaron and 6,500 liters of hydrocarbons - Titan and Harbor Star have issued certification that they have searched the vessel and can no longer retrieve the unaccounted items,” Bautista added.

The salvors also needed time to remove the equipment used in phase one and replace them with the equipment that would be used for the next task. “This phase of the task is more complicated than retrieving the toxic chemicals,” she said.

There were more than 800 people on board the sunken ferry and the PCG said that at least 33 survived, more than 200 have been confirmed dead while about 515 remain missing.

Chemical firm sued

Sulpicio Lines Inc. through its vice president for marketing Jordan Go has filed a civil case against Bayer Crop Science and Seaquest Logistics for their failure to declare the toxic chemical cargo, maritime torts and breach of terms and conditions in the Bill of Lading on their shipment that was loaded into the ill-fated Princess of the Stars.

In its nine-page complaint filed before the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City, SLI said Bayer Crop Science violated the breach of term and condition when it failed to inform the shipping company that they were carrying a toxic substance.

The cargo was consigned to Seaquest Logistics Cebu which later informed them of the harmful substance in their cargo but did not provide specific information regarding the toxic chemical.

SLI asked the defendants to pay the amount of P250,527 as actual damages representing the correct freight charges and P2,000,000 for the damages and expenses that the shipping company has incurred in the special cargo retrieval operations and salvage and refloating operations.

It also asked Bayer to pay an amount of P500,000 for loss of corporate goodwill; P250,000 for moral damages; P200,000 for exemplary damages and another P250,000 in attorney’s fees.

The shipping company said the toxic and dangerous nature of the Bayer’s shipment that was placed in a 20-footer van was not disclosed or declared to them. It added the dangerous and toxic shipment was only declared as “various goods.”

On June 25, SLI said they also received a letter from one of the shippers Del Monte Philippines regarding the harmful shipment endosulfan which was allegedly also undeclared to them.

This prompted SLI to verify with other shippers if there were other undeclared toxic cargo on board inasmuch as rescue and retrieval operations have been put to a halt due to the presence of the undeclared endosulfan shipment by Del Monte Philippines.

It was the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority that later informed SLI through the Department of Transportation and Communications that there were other harmful chemicals on board the sunken ferry.

The shipment consisted of chemicals antracol, tamaron 600, trap 70 and fuerza GR with chemical carbofuran.

SLI insisted that it was the duty of Bayer to inform them of the cargo that they would be carrying.

Bayer’s authorized representative Tess Cayton explained before the Board of Marine Inquiry that their shipment was not toxic because it is highly biodegradable but SLI said that they have found out that the shipment was toxic and a dangerous marine pollutant. – With Jasmin Uy