NAMRIA ship to search for sunken ferry’s crew

MANILA, Philippines – A vessel of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), which is equipped with a sonar sensor, is expected to arrive today in Batangas to help the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) locate the ferry Starlite Atlantic that sunk on Dec. 26.

“We would focus our search near the Balahibongmanoc Island since it was where Starlite Atlantic made last contact before it sank. It is also where the life jackets were found. We intend to limit our search in that area,” Cmdr.  Julius Caesar Victor Marvin Lim, PCG-Southern Tagalog district head, said yesterday.

The 1,497 gross ton roll-on and roll-off ferry is owned by Starlite Ferries.

The PCG is not discounting the possibility that the 18 missing crewmen were trapped inside the ship. 

Cmdr. Armand Balilo,  PCG spokesperson,  said the NAMRIA ship could help pinpoint the exact location of the ship.

Balilo raised the possibility that the ship is lying on a shallow part of the sea and could be reached by technical divers.