Two missing as Cebu cargo ship snags fishing boat

CEBU CITY — Two fishermen went missing while eight others were rescued after a Sulpicio cargo vessel damaged a fishing boat off the coast of Basilan last Thursday night.

According to reports, the Sulpicio Container XII (SulCon XII) was on its way to Cebu City from General Santos City when it snagged the mooring line of the F/B Dhalia in the Moro Gulf.

On board the fishing boat were Elegio Rabadon, 25; Gerardo Ganama, 35; Porperio Lagati, 28; Jerry Balios, 31; Tirso Saligan Jr., 43; Arne Legaspi, 25; Tirso Lacay, 22; Jeger Neri, 24; Danilo Empuesto, 57; and Jesilo Dominguez, 35, all of San Pablo City, Zamboanga del Sur.

Empuesto, the owner and operator of the vessel, and Do—minguez have remained missing after they fell overboard when the cargo vessel dragged the fishing boat.

The F/B Dhalia, a 12-meter long wooden boat from San Pablo City, was fishing in the area when the SulCon XII cut across its bow and snagged the 65-meter mooring line attached to a buoy and a fishtrap.

The fishing boat had been in the area for five days prior to the incident. The SulCon XII, a 4,585-gross ton cargo ship, left General Santos City for Cebu City early Thursday morning.

The F/B Dahlia was dragged alongside the SulCon XII, causing the portside outriggers to snap as they smashed against the steel hull. The outriggers bent inward and punctured the fishing boat’s hull near the prow.

The fishing boat took in water and sank while still in tow. Its crew members were only able to salvage a gallon of drinking water from the vessel, and lost their personal effects and fishing gear.

Four crew members, including the two missing, fell overboard. The Sulcon XII men fished them out after they were alerted by their shouts for help.

Using a crane to lift the F/B Dhalia from the water, the damaged boat was hauled onto the ship.

Both vessels are now at the city’s Pier 4, with the F/B Dhalia on dry land.

The survivors were given a change of clothes and coffee on board the cargo ship. A man later approached and asked them to sign a piece of paper without allegedly letting them read the contents.

Canama said they found this suspicious but they had no other choice since they were scared and the conditions were not in their favor.

They later learned that the document was a "confession" that they had no signals or navigational lights whatsoever on the F/B Dhalia.

The document, which they did not read, reportedly contained a statement that they were all asleep when the mishap happened.

They denied this, saying they had a number of lights on to attract fish to their nets, and were at their posts in different parts of the fishing boat.

They added that the cargo ship had a weak light at her prow, and that it was already late for them to haul in their mooring line when they saw the light.

Canama said they were hardly given any food on the cargo vessel and were forced to sell the fish they had caught to sustain themselves when they arrived in Cebu City Saturday night.

A Coast Guard source said tricking victims into signing confessions of ineptitude is an old tactic used by shipping companies to get off the hook easily.

He said the fact that two F/B Dhalia men were still missing would require the Coast Guard to convene a special board of marine inquiry to determine what really took place.

Meanwhile, SulCon XII captain Ciriaco Dolino Sr. filed a protest with the Coast Guard the other day, insisting that the F/B Dhalia and its buoy were unlighted and that they had even given warning to the vessel.

Sulpicio Lines spokesman Ulysses Yap said Dolino reported that they had stopped to change oil shortly before running into the mooring line of the allegedly unlighted vessel.

Yap said he had no idea about the allegations that the F/B Dhalia men were forced to sign a document, adding that he thought the survivors did it voluntarily.

Yap said the shipping firm offered the survivors food and accommodations in Cebu City. — Freeman News Service