Yolanda launches thousands of boats

At the height of super typhoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) struck the Eastern and Central Visayas regions last November 8, at least three ships moored at the nearby port were washed ashore from the Leyte Gulf. Though anchored, the ships were swept from the sea and onto land by the category 5 super typhoon.

With packing winds at 315 kph, Yolanda lifted tons of steel-hulled ships out of water and perched them atop heavily populated areas in the nearby coastal communities.

 Thus, it is feared many people were buried beneath these ships. As of this writing, the ships have remained where they are now. Local authorities and ship owners have yet to decide how to move them out, if still feasible. Experts, however, say these ill-fated ships will end up in the junkyard. From cursory inspections, there is no other recourse but to chop off the stranded ships piece by piece.

If ships as big as those were tossed out of the sea by Yolanda, you can just imagine the huge damage it caused to smaller vessels like the rinky-dink boats of fisher folks living in these coastal areas.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has no exact numbers but it estimated thousands of boats and fishing equipment have been lost to Yolanda.

If there is one consolation emerging out of this tragic calamity that brought destruction in the areas crossed by Yolanda, it is the teeming of foreign-flagged relief and aid ships. They all came here to the Philippines to help in the rescue and relief operations still going on in Leyte, Samar, and other Yolanda-stricken areas.

The first to arrive was the USS George Washington aircraft carrier that anchored off the coast of the Gulf of Leyte and Samar. One of the naval assets of the US 7th Fleet, the aircraft carrier came here with about a half dozen other American warships – including a destroyer and two huge supply vessels that are part of its strike group.

The USS George Washington, carrying 5,000-crew, enabled the search-and-rescue operations to expand to the Yolanda-ravaged areas and provided a platform for about 21 helicopters like Ospreys that moved medical, water, and other basic supplies faster.

Subsequently, the United Kingdom (UK) sent its MS Illustrious aircraft carrier and journeyed to the Philippines to help typhoon survivors. While docked in Singapore, UK Prime Minister David Cameron also later deployed the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring to help in the disaster relief operations in our country. Loaded with 500 tons of supplies, including rice and water containers, the British government sent engineering and first-aid experts as well as their air assets that include Lynx helicopters.

Later, Japan dispatched two warships carrying some 1,180 troops to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines in what the Japanese authorities say was the first major contingent of the military’s overseas aid deployment. The contingent was the largest single relief operation team ever sent abroad by Japan’s defense forces.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera beefed up Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to the relief operations and sent a total of 10 planes to the disaster-struck areas – seven C-130 transport planes, two KC-767 tanker planes and one U-4 multi-purpose support aircraft. The two warships also carried six helicopters.

The last to arrive was China’s navy hospital ship named Peace Ark, nearly two weeks after Yolanda struck. As the first 10,000-ton-class hospital ship in the world, this medical ship is equipped with 217 types and 2,406 units of advanced medical systems including CT scan room, digital X-ray photographic studio, blood bank, pharmacy, etc. On board the Peace Ark are more than 100 doctors, 200 support personnel, and 35 tons of medical supplies.

Incidentally, whatever happened to the presidential yacht BRP Ang Pangulo? Ex-President Joseph Estrada converted this into a hospital ship and equipped it with surgical facility. Just asking.

Anyway, the floating hospital came from China following days of critical reports from international media on the amount of assistance Beijing gave initially amid the outpouring of aid coming to the Philippines from all over the world. Beijing and Manila remain embroiled in a maritime territorial conflict in overlapping boundaries in South China Sea.

Much earlier, Taiwan sent its naval vessel to Cebu, carrying 530 metric tons of relief supplies for Yolanda victims. This shipment follows the delivery to the Philippines of more than 150 tons of aid supplies in 18 flights by ROC air force C-130 Hercules cargo planes.

Last Friday, a Bangladesh Navy ship BNS Somudra Joy docked at South Harbor in Manila to bring relief goods to survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. Manned by 19 officers and 114 sailors, it brought about 40 tons of assorted relief goods.

Amid these big warships – some of which are still anchored around the Yolanda-ravaged provinces – Filipino fisher folks try to go back to their chief means of livelihood provided to them by the sea. Some of the resourceful ones build makeshift fishing craft out of old refrigerator units. 

Over the weekend, BFAR chief Asis Perez announced their agency earmarked P50 million to build new boats for fisher folks affected by super typhoon Yolanda. The bulk of the amount would be used to build an initial 3,000 bancas, Perez said. The remaining amount will go to the construction of 350 units of shallow-water payao that Perez explained will be installed to provide fisher folk with targeted fishing areas.

To help those affected by typhoon Yolanda, the BFAR is aiming to have 10,000 fishing boats, or bancas within three months to help rebuild the livelihoods of some 20,000 fisher folk families under the Ahon! Sampung Libong Bangka Para sa Dalawampung Libong Pamilya initiative.


Because of its catastrophic impact, Yolanda was stricken out from the list of our country’s weather names. While “Helen” is described as the woman whose face launched a thousand ships to the Trojan War in the Iliad of Greek mythology, the mere “eye” of super typhoon Yolanda outdid her.

Not only battleships came here to the Philippines but Yolanda also soon launches more than a thousand boats.