Marina suspends ill-fated vessel’s operating permit

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has suspended the operating permit of M/V Weesam Express 7 which ran aground Thursday evening in a shallow portion of the Lauis Ledge off Talisay City.

The vessel will be made to undergo an underwater inspection to determine the damage caused by the grounding incident, a Marina official said. The vessel was  towed to Cebu City’s Pier 3  at around 5:30 a.m. yesterday.

All of the vessel’s 170 passengers and crew were taken to shore at past  midnight yesterday as strong waves slowed down the rescue operations.
The M/V Weesam Express 7 was bound for the port of Cebu from Ormoc when the accident happened at around 6:40 p.m.

Commodore William Melad, district commander of the Philippine Coast Guard, said all passengers were brought to the Cebu port at 12:08 midnight, or more than five hours after the accident. “One passenger  was brought immediately to Cebu Doctor’s Hospital for dialysis,” he said.

Passengers told a TV news crew that it took rescuers about two hours to reach them. TV footage showed passengers in lifejackets were lowered to a rubber boat which took them to a waiting coast guard patrol boat and the M/V Weesam Express 8 which was diverted to the scene to help in the rescue efforts. A navy patrol boat later joined the rescuers.
According to Lt Benedict Alayon, skipper of the naval boat, they could not get near the stranded vessel which was stuck in a shallow portion of the Lauis Ledge.
The rough seas also prompted another passenger ferry to return to the port of Cebu on Thursday night.

Third accident

According to Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, who was also on the scene to help in the rescue operations, Thursday’s incident was the third maritime accident  in Lauis Ledge. The count includes the tragic collision in August between the M/V St. Thomas Aquinas and the M/V Sulpicio Express 7.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is questioning why a Vessel Traffic Management System is not installed yet at the Lauis Ledge.