Aboitiz fleet grounded

MANILA, Philippines - The remaining 10 passenger and cargo ships of Aboitiz Transport System Corp. were ordered to stop operations yesterday.

In issuing the order, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) also stopped the officers and crew of the ill-fated M/V SuperFerry 9 from serving in other passenger ships. Their seaman’s book and Qualification Document Certificate were also suspended.

Maria Concepcion Arbolario, Marina Franchising Division director, said Aboitiz had been ordered to cease and desist from operating the 10 ships until further orders.

“The show cause order asks them to explain why their Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) should not be cancelled because of the incident, the sinking of SuperFerry 9,” she said.

Arbolario said the CPC is the firm’s franchise authority to operate. It was issued on May 19, 2005 and is valid for 25 years, she added.

The show cause order was served at the Aboitiz Transport office in Times Plaza, Taft Avenue corner United Nations Avenue in Manila.

At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said heads will roll after the Marina’s investigation of the sinking of SuperFerry 9.

 “Something has to be done, somebody must definitely be punished if there is anyone liable (for the incident),” she said. “If there is any mistake that has been done by any official, we will not allow this to pass.”

Speaking to reporters, Fajardo said the investigation will take into account the testimony of survivors, who reported that authorities allowed the ferry to sail although it was already listing at port.

The tragedy could “be an eye opener for our lawmakers” to dust off pending bills on strengthening maritime safety and the inter-island shipping industry, she added.

Presidential economic spokesman Gary Olivar said the record of the country’s inter-island shipping industry showed much to be desired in terms of the private players.

“This industry has chronic excess demand, and chronic misbehavior and lack of capacity on the part of the private players, so this industry seems to be one of the prime candidates for greater deregulation and more liberalization to make it more efficient and have more responsible operators,” he said.

“These appear to be classic signs of an industry that needs to be fixed through market-based solutions and privatization to allow more capacity and private players.”

Aboitiz Transport’s 10 passenger-cargo ships are: M/V Superferry 1, M/V Superferry 2, M/V Superferry 5, M/V Superferry 12, M/V Superferry 19, M/V Our Lady of Good Voyage, M/V Our Lady of Rule, M/V Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, M/V Cebu Ferry 1, and M/V Cebu Ferry 2.

A Marina inspection team will reinvestigate the vessels and will also conduct an International Ship Management audit on the passenger-cargo ships to ensure their seaworthiness and the competence of their officers and crew.

However, Aboitiz has yet to receive a copy of the show cause order suspending the operations of its 10 passenger cargo ships.

In a text message, Andrew Deyto, Aboitiz Transport assistant vice president for sales and marketing, said, “We have not received any yet.”

Joel Jesus Supan, Aboitiz Transport vice president for safety security and compliance, said: “We can’t assume content for any response. As a law abiding corporate citizen, we will abide by it if and when we receive it.”

Board to probe sinking

Speaking on ABS-CBN television, Transportation Undersecretary Thompson Lantion said yesterday the Board of Marine Inquiry will start investigating the sinking of SuperFerry 9 tomorrow.

The ship’s captain, Jose Yap, who is now in the custody of Aboitiz Transport management, would be made available during the start of the investigation, he added.

As of 5 a.m. yesterday, 957 people have been rescued from the waters off Zamboanga del Norte, according to Coast Guard Commandant Rear Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo.

On the same television channel, Erden Ferrer, Aboitiz Transport System senior corporate security officer, belied reports that SuperFerry 9 had a hole in the hull that caused the ship to list and then sink.

“We can assure you that there was no hole in the hull as it was duly inspected and was allowed by the Coast Guard to sail,” he said.

4 dead passengers identified

Glenn Rambonza, National Disaster Coordinating Council executive officer, identified four of the 12 dead passengers as Patrick Gallego, 2; Ferdinand Apolonio, Carina Ampere, 23, and Fernando Estrada, 45.

An Air Force rescue team fished out from the sea Monday a woman who had been floating on a raft for more than 24 hours.

Rear Adm. Alexander Pama, Naval Forces Western Mindanao chief, said Lita Casumlum was hoisted into a military helicopter after she was spotted drifting in waters off Zamboanga del Norte.

Casumlum, a resident of Badiangan, Iloilo, was taken to the headquarters of the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion in Sirawai for treatment before being airlifted to Zamboanga City.

Marina Circular no. 2009-18 states that if a passenger is listed in the ship’s passenger manifest he or she is entitled to receive P50,000 as monetary assistance over and above medical and hospitalization expenses and other reasonable expenses.

Navy promptly responds

Shortly after receiving the distress call from SuperFerry 9, the Navy immediately sent vessels and aircraft to the site.

Rear Admiral Pama said his men risked their lives to save more than 900 passengers and crew of the sinking ship.

His men could have been swallowed up by the huge waves and sucked into a vacuum as the ship began to sink, he added.

Pama said Navy men had already rescued more than 600 by the time the ship started to slide into the sea.

They loaded the rescued passengers into two Navy gunboats and two Multi-Purpose Attack Craft, he added.

Pama said two Air Force helicopters and two planes and a Navy aircraft were used to pinpoint passengers, who might have drifted to nearby islands.

“The Navy ships will stay as long as there are passengers still unaccounted for,” he said.

Coast Guard to stop oil spill

The Coast Guard was working to stop any possible oil spill in waters off Zamboanga del Norte after the SuperFerry 9 sank.

Pama said a naval reconnaissance team is on site to help spot the oil about four miles from the sunken ship.

“The Coast Guard is now instituting control of possible oil spill given the indicators of the oil shine about four miles from the sunken site,” he said.

Navy pilots can see from the air oil slicks near the sunken site, he added.

Commodore Rodolfo Isorena, Coast Guard commander for southwestern Mindanao, said two Coast Guard boats capable of preventing oil spill have arrived in the area.

The boats carry a buoy tender that could detect an oil leak from the sunken ship, he added.

Another ship sinks in Eastern Samar

Barely a day after the SuperFerry 9 sank off Zamboanga del Norte, a foreign cargo ship bound for Japan from Papua New Guinea sank in waters about 10 nautical miles off Tubabao Island in Dolores, Eastern Samar.

Director Andres Caro III, Philippine National Police Directorate for Operations chief, said the M/V Hera was manned by a crew of four South Koreans and 18 Filipinos.

The ship was reported listing and taking in water as early as 8:30 p.m. Sunday night and was last seen in the waters near Tubabao Island, he added.

Information from the liaison office of Seapine Shipping Co. in Cebu City said the vessel’s crew already boarded life rafts as of yesterday morning.

The Air Force has sent two helicopters to help in the search and rescue operations for the missing crew.

Coast Guard men rescued the 18 Filipinos and four South Koreans who abandoned the Panamanian-registered cargo ship that lost power then sank in rough waters.

The Hera, which was carrying a cargo of logs, encountered engine trouble, lost power then sank off Eastern Samar province early Monday.

All its crewmembers managed to escape in a lifeboat, which was later spotted by Coast Guard rescuers.

A Hong Kong maritime accident monitoring center asked the Coast Guard to start a search and rescue after receiving a distress call from the 4,189-ton Hera.

In another accident, a ferry carrying 28 people sank off Maluso, Basilan Friday after it developed engine trouble and was battered by strong waves, the Coast Guard said.

Residents and fishermen rescued all 28 people on board the M/B Minham, which left nearby Jolo allegedly without any Coast Guard clearance.

Owned by a certain Hadji Hamsi, the Minham was carrying about 500 sacks of rice.

DSWD to debrief survivors

The Department of Social Welfare and Development will conduct a critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) of survivors from the SuperFerry 9.

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Aboitiz Transport System has shouldered all the necessary expenses to assist the survivors.

“Our staff in the region has been on the ground since Sunday. Aboitiz has taken full responsibility for the problem,” she said.

“Our role is mostly to facilitate access to services and compensation being provided to the victims and families by the shipping lines.”

The Enhance Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing is the provision of emotional/psychological support to individuals and families in stressful situations to assist them in overcoming and relieving their anxieties. — With Edith Regalado, Paolo Romero, James Mananghaya, Helen Flores, Jaime Laude, Jose Rodel Clapano