On 3rd day of Special Marine Inquiry, no distress call from 2GO – PCG

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard did not receive a distress call from the MV St. Thomas Aquinas before the collision with Sulpicio Express Siete happened off Lawis Ledge near the south entrance to the Cebu harbor on the evening of August 16.

This was the statement of PCG’s Fritzie Pun-an during the third day of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry proceedings yesterday.

Pun-an was assigned to receive and transmit calls from inbound and outbound vessels at the PCG station when the collision between the 2GO passenger ship and the Sulpicio cargo vessel happened.

Pun-an said that before the incident happened, she heard a radio message from the cargo vessel that said, “This is Sulpicio Express Siete, inbound vessel (2GO) in Lawis Ledge, port to port.”

“Nakarinig ako ng tawag mula sa Sulpicio Express Siete pero wala sa St. Thomas Aquinas,” Pun-an added.

The PCG personnel’s statement was collaborated by the testimony of Apprentice Mate Jobs Samoya of Sulpicio Express Siete. Samoya added that the 3rd Mate informed the captain that the inbound vessel changed course based on the green light they saw, prompting the captain to order him to call the vessel.

“Dalawang beses tinawagan yung inbound vessel (St. Thomas Aquinas) ng 3rd Mate officer namin na port to port (left to left) pero wala kaming narinig na sagot,” said Samoya.

At night, the portside or left side of a ship is indicated by a red navigational light while the starboard side or the right side, is indicated by a green light.

He added that the captain also ordered them to lookout for the inbound vessel because there was no response from MV St. Thomas Aquinas.

Because the inbound vessel shifted to its left or portside, the captain of Sulpicio altered its course to the starboard side or right side, shifting from 180 to 185, said Samoya.

This was also the testimony of Sulpicio’s Quarter Master Jermaine Delima, who added that the incident happened quickly. “Napakabilis ng pangyayari at sobrang bilis rin ng takbo o pag-cross ng St. Thomas Aquinas. Si captain nga narinig ko sumigaw ng ‘Oh My God Jesus Christ! Stop the engine!’”Delima recalled.

Delima added that the cargo vessel’s captain called the inbound vessel to ask about what happened after the collision but got no response.

Pun-an testified that she only heard the captain of the MV St. Thomas Aquinas on the radio when he gave the order to abandon ship. She also recalled hearing the Sulpicio vessel’s captain saying, “This is Sulpicio Express Siete, we collided with MV St. Thomas Aquinas.”

Pun-an immediately called the personnel at the PCG detachment to transmit the messages when she heard the call about the collision.

Sulpicio’s Delima further testified to hearing the captain giving a “mayday” distress call twice and ordering his men to help the 2GO passengers.

Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) investigator Arnie Santiago stressed Maritime Rule 34 which states that the vessel in doubt shall immediately blow a whistle five times.

Third Engineer Alberto Ordinal of the cargo vessel, who was assigned at the engine room when the incident happened, however, said that he only heard the 10-second general alarm and not the distress signal or alarm, which is supposed to be 15 short blasts.

A total of 25 resource persons, including Coast Guard personnel, officers and crew of the two vessels, as well as survivors of the sea mishap have testified in the SBMI proceedings which started last Friday.

PCG Commander and SBMI chairman Gilbert Rueras said they already have a clear view of what really happened but they still have to validate the testimonies given by the sources, which is why they will still have to invite more resource persons for the inquiry.

Rueras reiterated that the proceeding is not meant to decide who is liable for the incident. He said the inquiry is meant to gather facts that will shed light on why the collision happened. However, the result of the inquiry will be made public and can be used by the parties involved.

“Hopefully the private and public agencies will make use of our reports, primarily to improve safety measures particularly in the Cebu channel,” Rueras said.

He also appealed to the public, especially those who saw the incident and possibly recorded what happened, to be a resource person.

Today, the 2nd Engineer of the Sulpicio Express Siete, as well as the officer of Ocean Jet, which was within the area when the incident happened, are expected to appear before the SBMI.

Rueras said the inquiry will go on despite today being a holiday so they can finish the inquiry in two weeks. — /QSB (FREEMAN)