The Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) assisted a distressed vessel off the waters of Camotes Island this afternoon, March 2, 2020. | Photo Courtesy of PCG-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A roll on-roll (ro-ro) off vessel plying the Camotes-Danao route was rescued off the waters of Camotes Island at past 2 p.m. of March 2, 2020.
MV Mika Mari III, which had 133 passengers and 17 crewmembers, lost engine power and drifted off Camotes Seas at 2:30 p.m., said Lieutenant Junior Grade Eric Salcedo of the Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7).
Salcedo said that the MV Mika Mari III was heading for Consuelo Port in Camotes Island from Danao City port when it encountered engine trouble.
It then sent out a distress signal and the PCG-7 responded and so did the LCT JSC1, which later towed the troubled vessel to Consuelo port.
Ro-ro Cooling system malfunctioned
Iniitial investigation showed that the vessel’s cooling system was said to have malfunctioned, which resulted to the main engine to overheat and fail.
The towed MV Mika Mari III arrived safely with its passengers and crew at the Consuelo Port at past 6 p.m.
The ship’s captain was told to file a marine protest of the incident./dbs