| Photo courtesy of Kim Laher Vergara
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A passenger vessel that was headed for Palompon town in Leyte province caught fire shortly after it left the port of Cebu City Thursday night, July 23, 2020.
The Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) managed to rescue all of the vessel’s 48 crew members, said Commander Alvin Dagalea.
“Initial information from the captain said all 48 crew are accounted for. They will be brought to our substation in Carmen town after our rescue operation,” he said.
As of this writing, Dagalea said they are yet to verify the cause of the fire, where it started, and the extent of damage it caused on the vessel that is owned by a Cebu-based shipping company.
Initially, he said that around 95 percent of the ship was burned.
Dagalea said that the vessel, MV Filipinas Dinagat, caught fire at about 9 p.m. while on the waters near Catmon town, located approximately 57 kilometers north of Cebu City.
Luckily, the vessel did not have any passengers on board when the fire broke.
Although classified as a passenger vessel, Dagalea said, that this has been used as a roll-on-roll-off cargo vessel while passenger trips from Cebu City are still restricted.
“There were no passengers on board. Only various goods and supplies,” Dagalea said. / dcb