Post by Forum Moderator / Kaskasero on Jun 26, 2008 10:42:10 GMT 8
Sulpicio official blames govt for sinking of ferry
Manila Times
26 June 2008 | 12:10 AM
Executives of Sulpicio Lines Inc., which owns the MV Princess of the Stars, on Wednesday blamed government for the sinking of its ferry over the weekend.
In turn, Coast Guard officials, already under pressure for allowing the ferry to sail at the onset of a typhoon, blamed the shipping line.
As they traded accusations, rescuers extinguished slim hopes of finding survivors in the stricken vessel.
There are no signs of life, Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said also on Wednesday. Rescuers said anyone who had managed to find air pockets in the ship would have suffocated by now.
The Coast Guard said the official death toll was 70, while 57 survivors have been rescued. The Princess was carrying about 862 people.
Arthur Lim, the Sulpicio Lines lawyer, claimed before the Board of Marine inquiry that the Coast Guard had failed to plot routes for ships during bad weather as called for by a memorandum issued in 1998.
Real Adm. Ramon Liwag of the Coast Guard, the head of the board that is conducting the probe, refuted Lims allegation. He said the 1998 memorandum had been revised and replaced by another memorandum that was released in June 2007. The new guidelines as read by the clerk of the panel said full responsibility is given to a ship owner and the captain to chart courses under bad weather.
Edgar Go, an engineer and the vice-president of Sulpicio Lines, told the board of sudden bad weather conditions during the ships journey from Manila to Cebu. It sank on June 21, a day after it left port, off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province.
The ships captain, engineer and safety officer, who also had been summoned by the board to the inquiry, did not show up.
Go also told the panel that the last contact between the captain, Florencio Marimon, and the Sulpicio Lines office in Cebu was cut off around 11:30 a.m. of June 21. Marimons earlier messages were that the ships engine was running well and that the boat was listing heavily.
Go said conditions at sea were light when the Princess departed Manila. During the voyage, though, he added, Marimon sent a message saying sea conditions were moderate to rough. Go did not say when the message was sent.
According to the Sulpicio official, the company acquired Princess of the Stars from Japan in 2001. He said he could not recall the vessels capacity back then, but that its interior and facilities were modified and upgraded. Go added that the sunken ship belonged to a fleet of more than 20 passenger and cargo vessels.
The Board of Marine Inquiry was convened Monday by the Department of Transportation and Communications in a bid to determine liability for the incident.
No deadline was given for the board to complete its probe, but Liwag said they will submit a report to the department in the next 15 to 20 days.
The Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Commander Armand Balilo, said details gathered from the probe could be used for a criminal prosecution if needed.
GMA talks tough
President Gloria Arroyo assured that the government will hold people accountable for the sinking of a ferry if that is what the findings reveal. She was referring to facts that a board of investigators aims to gather on the incident that left a few dozen survivors and apparently hundreds of others dead.
Like many Filipinos, I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives from the typhoon and the ferry tragedy, President Arroyo said Wednesday, this time referring to tropical storm Frank that killed also hundreds and destroyed crops worth billions and to the sinking of the Princess.
I am also angry at what happened with the capsizing of the ferry, even as we run a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened, why it happened, and how it could have been avoided, she added.
Recovery effort
Off Sibuyan Island, more than 100 American and Filipino divers combed the wreckage of the 23,000-ton Princess of the Stars, whose upturned bow remained jutting above waters after it capsized in a typhoon last week.
Only 57 persons survived the tragedy, according to civil defense office figures, making it one of the worst maritime disasters in Philippine history.
The American divers have joined the grim search for bloated bodies of men, women and children who were on the 22-hour trip when Typhoon Frank struck.
With poor visibility and strong undercurrents hampering search and rescue, officials appealed for more equipment from abroad as well as relief goods for survivors of the typhoon, which left another 600 dead or missing across the country.
International support
Mrs. Arroyo, who is in Washington for an official visit, secured a pledge from US counterpart George W. Bush to send an aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, and other naval assets to help with the relief efforts. (See related story A2.)
Besides the US governments pledge to donate $100,000, President Arroyo said the governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, has pledged to send the National Guards stationed in the state to help in retrieval operations.
Spain also offered to help in search and rescue efforts, she added.
Grieving relatives continued to stream to Sulpicio Lines demanding to know the fate of their loved ones.
Many are inconsolable, but there have also been tearful reunions for the lucky few who survived the tragedy.
Vice President Noli de Castro urged Sulpicio Lines to immediately put up crisis centers in Manila and Cebu to attend to the needs of the families of the victims and the survivors.
He said old and dilapidated vessels will always [make the Philippines] prone to maritime accidents. -- Anthony Vargas, Angelo S. Samonte, Katrice R. Jalbuena and AFP
Manila Times
26 June 2008 | 12:10 AM
Executives of Sulpicio Lines Inc., which owns the MV Princess of the Stars, on Wednesday blamed government for the sinking of its ferry over the weekend.
In turn, Coast Guard officials, already under pressure for allowing the ferry to sail at the onset of a typhoon, blamed the shipping line.
As they traded accusations, rescuers extinguished slim hopes of finding survivors in the stricken vessel.
There are no signs of life, Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said also on Wednesday. Rescuers said anyone who had managed to find air pockets in the ship would have suffocated by now.
The Coast Guard said the official death toll was 70, while 57 survivors have been rescued. The Princess was carrying about 862 people.
Arthur Lim, the Sulpicio Lines lawyer, claimed before the Board of Marine inquiry that the Coast Guard had failed to plot routes for ships during bad weather as called for by a memorandum issued in 1998.
Real Adm. Ramon Liwag of the Coast Guard, the head of the board that is conducting the probe, refuted Lims allegation. He said the 1998 memorandum had been revised and replaced by another memorandum that was released in June 2007. The new guidelines as read by the clerk of the panel said full responsibility is given to a ship owner and the captain to chart courses under bad weather.
Edgar Go, an engineer and the vice-president of Sulpicio Lines, told the board of sudden bad weather conditions during the ships journey from Manila to Cebu. It sank on June 21, a day after it left port, off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province.
The ships captain, engineer and safety officer, who also had been summoned by the board to the inquiry, did not show up.
Go also told the panel that the last contact between the captain, Florencio Marimon, and the Sulpicio Lines office in Cebu was cut off around 11:30 a.m. of June 21. Marimons earlier messages were that the ships engine was running well and that the boat was listing heavily.
Go said conditions at sea were light when the Princess departed Manila. During the voyage, though, he added, Marimon sent a message saying sea conditions were moderate to rough. Go did not say when the message was sent.
According to the Sulpicio official, the company acquired Princess of the Stars from Japan in 2001. He said he could not recall the vessels capacity back then, but that its interior and facilities were modified and upgraded. Go added that the sunken ship belonged to a fleet of more than 20 passenger and cargo vessels.
The Board of Marine Inquiry was convened Monday by the Department of Transportation and Communications in a bid to determine liability for the incident.
No deadline was given for the board to complete its probe, but Liwag said they will submit a report to the department in the next 15 to 20 days.
The Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Commander Armand Balilo, said details gathered from the probe could be used for a criminal prosecution if needed.
GMA talks tough
President Gloria Arroyo assured that the government will hold people accountable for the sinking of a ferry if that is what the findings reveal. She was referring to facts that a board of investigators aims to gather on the incident that left a few dozen survivors and apparently hundreds of others dead.
Like many Filipinos, I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives from the typhoon and the ferry tragedy, President Arroyo said Wednesday, this time referring to tropical storm Frank that killed also hundreds and destroyed crops worth billions and to the sinking of the Princess.
I am also angry at what happened with the capsizing of the ferry, even as we run a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened, why it happened, and how it could have been avoided, she added.
Recovery effort
Off Sibuyan Island, more than 100 American and Filipino divers combed the wreckage of the 23,000-ton Princess of the Stars, whose upturned bow remained jutting above waters after it capsized in a typhoon last week.
Only 57 persons survived the tragedy, according to civil defense office figures, making it one of the worst maritime disasters in Philippine history.
The American divers have joined the grim search for bloated bodies of men, women and children who were on the 22-hour trip when Typhoon Frank struck.
With poor visibility and strong undercurrents hampering search and rescue, officials appealed for more equipment from abroad as well as relief goods for survivors of the typhoon, which left another 600 dead or missing across the country.
International support
Mrs. Arroyo, who is in Washington for an official visit, secured a pledge from US counterpart George W. Bush to send an aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, and other naval assets to help with the relief efforts. (See related story A2.)
Besides the US governments pledge to donate $100,000, President Arroyo said the governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, has pledged to send the National Guards stationed in the state to help in retrieval operations.
Spain also offered to help in search and rescue efforts, she added.
Grieving relatives continued to stream to Sulpicio Lines demanding to know the fate of their loved ones.
Many are inconsolable, but there have also been tearful reunions for the lucky few who survived the tragedy.
Vice President Noli de Castro urged Sulpicio Lines to immediately put up crisis centers in Manila and Cebu to attend to the needs of the families of the victims and the survivors.
He said old and dilapidated vessels will always [make the Philippines] prone to maritime accidents. -- Anthony Vargas, Angelo S. Samonte, Katrice R. Jalbuena and AFP