Sub owner denies damaging corals

CEBU, Philippines - The management of the Cebu Yellow Submarine and Undersea Tours Corp. yesterday denied that their underwater sea craft crashed and damaged a coral reef in the waters off Lapu-Lapu City.

In a press conference, Agnes Escaño, the management’s spokesperson, explained their side on the issues that came out because of a video uploaded in YouTube that went viral entitled “Coral Crusher” referring to its submarine.

The video, which was uploaded last April 24, was reportedly taken in January.

It shows the Yellow Submarine allegedly brushing against a coral reef as it made a turn.

Escaño pointed out six key points that the widely circulated video about the alleged crash failed to point out to its viewers.

Escaño first pointed out that the Yellow Submarine is equipped with six air tanks that allow it to control its buoyancy while cruising underwater.

She said that when air is released from the tanks to make the submarine go deeper, it creates a crashing sound from within coupled with a slight tremor that the passengers sometimes feel during the cruise.

“Such was the sound recorded on the video while the submarine was negotiating its way along the reef wall where a coral overhang was located. It was not a sound resulting from the submarine actually crashing the reef wall but the sound of air being released from the six air tanks within the submarine,” said Escaño.

She said that sound travels five times faster and is much louder underwater than on air and can actually seem to come from very near a person even if it comes from quite a distance.

Escaño also emphasized  that what appears to be a ‘cloud of dust’ coming from the reef wall even while the submarine was cruising at a distance was caused by the propeller.

“These clouds of dust are actually results of propellers located in front of the craft and a main propeller located at the rear end of the submarine. Henceforth, dust seen on the cliff overhang is not a proof of actual crash into the reef wall,” Escaño said.

Escaño said the angle from which the video was taken can easily lead the viewer to misconstrue that the submarine crashed into the reef considering that it was taken from above the submarine while clouds of dust were emitted through the stabilizer propellers in front.

“Take these together with the crashing sound emitted from the released air from the air tanks – and what do we have? A plain and simple crash to the general video viewer uninformed of the technicalities with which the submarine operates underwater,” she said.

Escaño clarified that the submarine was cruising towards a cliff overhang so it had to maneuver its depth to accommodate the protrusion in the wall.

She also corrected earlier reports that the submarine eventually hit the wall prompting the craft to move away.

“The submarine was maneuvering to turn and go deeper to cruise under the cliff overhang,” she said.

Escaño stressed that the management of the Yellow Submarine has invested a great deal of time, money, effort and dedication in the business endeavor and that they make sure that they take good care of its primary asset, which is the submarine.

Photos were shown to the members of the media to prove that there was no damage on the submarine, which should have been visible if an actual crash occurred.

“The video shows that the front end of the sub where the safety bars are located was what seemingly crashed into the cliff. We have found no damage whatsoever thereon. The blotches on the submarine paint that you see in the video are actually natural algae formation resulting from being submerged in water for quite some time,” she said.

She added that the submarine is equipped with a very thick tempered glass that provides the pilot with a fish-eye view of the environment in front and on both sides providing him with almost 240 degrees vantage point from inside his cabin.

“We hope that with these six points of consideration we have provided you ladies and gentlemen with ample information to discern what actually happened in the video,” Escaño said.

During the press conference, John Melendres, a freelance diving instructor, suggested to the management that instead of defending, they must find solutions so that the same incident will not happen.

Escaño said the Cebu Yellow Submarine and Undersea Tours Corporation firmly abides by its mission of sustaining livelihood growth through local employment and tourism while actively creating awareness for the protection and preservation of marine life. It is a mission that they also share with its mother company, the Phil. BXT Corporation.

With this, the management has allotted a budget for the artificial coral implantation that they will be making in the area and at the same time, they are also willing to comply with all government requirements.

The management also denied the allegation that they did not bother to discuss the matter with Mayor Paz Radaza.

Escaño said that they sent a letter last Friday after receiving the Notice of Violation last April 26.

On the other hand, Radaza said that the city’s stand is based on the YouTube video.  — with Flor Perolina and John Destacamento/MBG