Near Oslob: Another Vessel Stucks

 By 

ELIAS O. BAQUERO and 

OSCAR C. PINEDA

Rose in reef. A salvaging company will try to move today the mv Bell Rose (photo) from the reef it struck when it ran aground off Malapascua last Monday. (Capitol Public Information Office Foto)

ANOTHER vessel ran aground in Cebu’s seas, this time near Luisan point in Nueva Caceres, Oslob, Cebu at 1:30 p.m. last Jan. 15.

The vessel, LCT 788 of Seen Sam Shipping, ran aground while on its way from Naga City to Toledo City. The accident came two days after a foreign vessel, the mv Belle Rose, ran aground five nautical miles off Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu.

In the LCT 788’s case, however, its captain and crew managed to move the vessel after 30 minutes. The Belle Rose remains in place.

A team from the Capitol and a salvaging company will try to remove the Belle Rose today, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III announced. The ship owner is willing to settle the damage amicably, he said.

Commander Agapito “Butch” Bibat, chief of the Coast Guard’s Cebu Station, said that officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported to the Oslob police that LCT 788 ran aground and may have damaged the underwater environment.

Bibat said that the DA and the police prevented the vessel from departing pending an investigation by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Coast Guard.

Bibat said that Marina conducted an underwater inspection the other day, and that Marina 7 then issued a Certificate of Seaworthiness to LCT 788.

He said that the DA also reported there was no damage to marine life.

Based on Marina’s certification, Bibat said they cleared the vessel to sail for Toledo City to load vehicles and other rolling cargo.

Spill

Meanwhile, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 is still waiting for the consolidated report of its team before announcing the results of its investigation and recommendations on a reported oil spill in the tourism area of Moalboal, Cebu.

EMB 7 Director William Cunado said that their technical team took water samples from the shoreline of Bas Diot, as well as the Pescadores North, West, South and East stations.

Of the five sampling stations, Pescadores North, West and East failed to pass the sampling standard of 1mg/L.

“As per our laboratory analysis dated June 14-15, 2016, the said three sampling stations revealed two mg/L of oil and grease,” Cunado said.

But Cunado said they cannot yet make a conclusion and recommendation unless the consolidated report of the technical team will be submitted to EMB 7 and tackled thoroughly.

In Malapascua, drivers inspected the site to figure out the best way to move away from the reef the vessel Belle Rose, which is still carrying 48,000 metric tons of clinker, which is used in manufacturing cement.

Compensation

Right after the dive, lawyer Pedrito Faytaren Jr. said that the local council, mostly those who attended the emergency meeting last June 16, will again meet in Malapascua to approve the final salvage plan. He represents Salvor Marine Towage.

Governor Davide said that the joint group will take advantage of the highest tide between June 15 and 18.

A marine protest will still be pursued, but the Province is open to a compromise settlement to avoid a drawn-out investigation, Davide said.

“As far as compensation for damage, the vessel’s owner is willing to pay,” he told reporters yesterday.

Diving and marine experts will be at the site when the ship is removed, Davide said, so they can immediately assess the damage it caused.

He said the ship owner has to pay for the damage to the corals, based on the assessment done by a marine biologist from the University of San Carlos, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) and Atty. Ben Cabrido, an environment lawyer and advocate.

“I can assure Daanbantayan, especially those from Malapascua, that they will be compensated for the damage brought about by the ship,” the governor said.

The Panama-registered Belle Rose cut through bed of corals 10 meters underwater, located four nautical miles southeast of the island of Malapascua, at 3 a.m. last June 13. The ship was reportedly trying to avoid fishermen when it ran aground.

Coming from a port in Tsukumi, Japan, the ship is carrying clinkers bound for San Fernando town in Cebu, where two cement factories operate.