4 hurt as vessels collide off Lauis Ledge

LAWIS LEDGE COLLISION. The left rear portion of Fastcat M11 roro passenger fastcraft was badly damaged after it was hit by MV Oceanic a cargo vessel off Lauis Ledge Thursday night. The collision injured 4 passengers.

AT least four passengers were reported injured after a cargo ship hit the rear of a passenger vessel off Lauis Ledge in Talisay City on Thursday night.

Lt. Jg. Mike Encina, spokesperson of Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu (PCG) station, said the incident involving MV Oceanic and MV Fastcat M11 happened around 8:45 p.m. of Oct. 18.

MV Fastcat M11 was headed for Tubigon, Bohol with 70 passengers onboard while the cargo vessel was on its way to the ports of Cebu when the collision happened.

The impact of the collision damaged the rear of MV Fastcat M11 including three decks and several seats.

“Three of the injured passengers were brought to the hospital for further treatment,” said Encina.

The injured passengers were identified as Daniel Fuentes, 38; Manuel Veloso Jr., 48; Anacleto Dico Jr., 47; and Cary Angelo Bilga, 28.

Despite incurring damages, the fastcraft was able to return safely to Pier 3 in Cebu City.

“We checked the area where the incident happened and fortunately there was no oil spill observed in the area,” said Encina.

Both ships are no longer allowed to sail while PCG-Cebu is conducting an investigation.

It was also learned that the captains of both vessels have not yet submitted their marine protest to PCG-Cebu as of yesterday afternoon.

But based on their initial investigation, Encina said that the incident was caused by “human errors.”

“These might be human errors sa laki ng dagat (they should not have collided). At dapat may look out tayo,” said Encina.

The PCG-Cebu said that the vessels should not have collided since there are specific paths that they should follow in leaving and going to ports.

“They have different paths. So we will look into that,” said Encina.

Meanwhile, the Archipelago Philippine Ferris Corp., the operator of FastCat Roll-on Roll-off ferries, released a statement yesterday afternoon apologizing to their passengers.

The management said that they will shoulder all the medical expenses of the injured passengers and assured that they are in close communication with the families of the victims.

The management further stated that they are willing to cooperate with the investigation to be conducted by PCG-Cebu, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) while adding that management is conducting its own investigation “to identify the root cause (of the accident) so that we can take steps to prevent, if not eliminate the same from happening again as we strive to uphold the thrust of our company to put safety at the forefront.”