Marina blacklists erring insurance firm

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has blacklisted the insurance company of the ill-fated MV Maria Carmela for its failure to compensate the victims some nine months after a fire gutted the vessel off the Batangas port.

Marina is also seeking the outright revocation of the license of Capital Insurance and Surety Inc. "without prejudice to any criminal and/or civil action that may be taken by the appropriate parties."

In a decision, Marina Administrator Oscar Sevilla ordered Capital Insurance to be "immediately stricken off" from the list of accredited insurance companies of the Insurance Commission.

"We warned them (Capital Insurance) before but they did not listen. So it is their fault," Sevilla told The STAR.

Forty-four passengers were confirmed dead, 28 were missing and 74 others were injured when the MV Maria Carmela, owned by the Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. (MSLI), caught fire off the Batangas port while on its way to Lucena from Masbate.

The fatalities either drowned or were burned to death in the mid-sea tragedy.

In a two-page order, Sevilla said they are meting the penalty on Capital Insurance due to its "continued refusal… to honor the claims of the heirs of the casualties," leaving Marina with no option but to blacklist it.

The insurance company is supposed to pay the families of the fatalities P100,000 each. — Jose Aravilla