2 cargo ships collide near Cebu City harbor

Two cargo ships collided near the Cebu City harbor late Saturday, causing one, which was carrying 17,000 sacks of rice, to sink.

A Coast Guard vessel and the other ship rescued all 22 crewmen from the sunken vessel, officials said.

The steel-hulled MV Premship-x, which was loaded with the sacks of rice, was sailing out of Cebu City’s main harbor when it collided with incoming cargo ship MV Mijara II, the Coast Guard said.

The 22 officers and crewmen of MV Premship-x jumped into the sea and were quickly rescued by a Coast Guard boat and the crewmen of MV Mijara II, which was damaged but did not sink, the Coast Guard said.

The National Food Authority bought the rice from Vietnam and chartered the MV Premship-x to transport it from Cebu to nearby Catbalogan town in Eastern Samar, said NFA director Rex Estoperez.

Lt. Commander Joseph Coyme, Coast Guard spokesman, said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision.

The Coast Guard has sent a marine environmental protection team to the collision site to monitor any oil spill. — Edu Punay, AP