Coast Guard to probe sinking of M/V Asia Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it would look into the sinking of the cargo-passenger ship M/V Asia Malaysia off the coast of Iloilo at the height of heavy rains on Sunday and check for possible oil leakage in the area.

PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente said the PCG wants to find out if overloading caused the ship to capsize.

According to Ricafrente, a Special Board of Marine Inquiry would be formed by the PCG-Western Visayas to investigate the incident.

“There is a possibility that the cargo on board the ship were not properly secured. But we’re still looking into it and we still have to wait until the investigation has been completed,” he said.

Ricafrente said that the vessel’s operator – TransAsia Shipping Lines Inc. – claimed that the Asia Malaysia encountered strong winds and big waves at 4 a.m. of July 31.

The ship captain issued a distress signal and abandon-ship order before it capsized.

But other reports said that there were only moderate rains and moderate waves when the vessel began listing on its starboard side.

The PCG has deployed two of its vessels, the BRP Corregidor and the BRP EDSA, while its helicopter was scouring the area to check for a possible oil spill in the waters of Iloilo.

Initial reports reaching the PCG main office in Manila indicated that 40 percent of the vessel’s fuel was mixed bunker fuel and the rest was diesel.

Personnel of Coast Guard-Marine Environment Protection Unit were also sent to Iloilo to monitor the area.

PCG Commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag ordered officials of PCG-Western Visayas to require the owner of the ship to hire the services of a competent salvor to suction the oil from the sunken vessel.

The ship steered by Captain Romualdo Geraldizo with 134 passengers and 44 crewmembers on board was bound for Iloilo from Cebu when it sank off Calabas Island in Ajuy town in Iloilo.

All 178 people on board were rescued by fishermen and other passing vessels like the MV Filipinas Cebu and the MV Phil Visayas, assisted by the Coast Guard.

The ship was not overloaded because it could accommodate 551 people.