Ship gets stuck in Talisay reef

CEBU, Philippines -  A roll-on roll-off ship ran aground Wednesday night in Pungaton Reef, barangay Pooc, Talisay City.

VG Shipping Lines, based on the initial investigation conducted by PO2 Narciso Alforque, left Pier 3 in Cebu City at 8:15 the other night on its way to Oroquieta City but hit a shallow portion of the reef, stranding it.

SPO1 Oliver Dacua, duty desk officer of the Talisay City Police Station, said chief mate Rodrigo Buligan was in control of the ship while the ship's captain, Rolando Medija, was taking his meal.

Medija allegedly reported the incident only after several hours later when the city's Bantay Dagat task force, Fishermen Sea and Ecological Care (Fiseca), discovered the unmoving ship at 5 a.m. yesterday.

While all its eight passengers and some crew were allowed to go, VG Shipping Lines was being held by the Philippine Coast Guard pending the investigation of the incident.

City Councilor Bernard Odilao, chairman on council committee on environment, said the city will send professional divers to assess the damage to the reef.

"We will be doing the same procedures (like we did with MV Majuro). So right now, our divers will check the site to assess the damage," Odilao said.

MV Majuro, a Chinese cargo vessel, ran aground in Lagundi Reef, the city's then alive marine sanctuary, last March 2009.

The city charged the ship captain with violation of the environmental laws before the City Prosecutor's Office.

The complaint was dismissed however after the city government failed to submit proofs that would substantiate its allegations.

And while divers consider the Lagundi Reef a future dive destination, the Pungaton is reported to be in a sad state.

Diver Alfie Fernandez of the Knight-Stewards of the Sea, Inc. (Seaknights) said the Pungaton Reef for so many years has been a victim of rampant dynamite fishing, hence, the corals there have been pulverized.

The reef has been declared a marine protected area but the government has not taken steps to restore the site, said Fernandez.

Talisay is a coastal city whose many residents still depend on fishing for their source of revenue. (FREEMAN)