88 passengers, 55 crew members rescued from vessel that ran aground in Danajon Bank

MV Starlite Saturn |Photo from PCG-7

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard District Central Visayas reported that a total of 88 passengers were safely transferred from MV Starlite Saturn to MV Camael as of 8:12 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

The roro vessel, MV Starlight Saturn, ran aground while sailing from Surigao City to Cebu City on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Passengers said the ship was stuck on the waters of the Danajon Bank in Talibon, Bohol starting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Lt. Cdr. Neil Rafael Ybera of the the Naval Central Forces (NAVFORCEN) said the rescued passengers were transported to Pier 5 in Cebu City following their rescue on Wednesday morning.

Ybera said they dispatched two of their vessels, BRP Filipino Flojo and BRP Enrique Jurado, Tuesday night to rescue the stranded passengers and the boat’s crew.  Their vessels arrived at the Danajon Bank at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

He admitted that they experienced delays in their rescue operations as a result of the low tide.  According to Ybera their vessels were unable to come close to MV Starlight Saturn.

With this, rescue operations officially started at about 4:30 a.m. or more than two hours later.

The rescued passengers were transferred to MV St. Camael, a Supercat vessel.

Ybera said that 11 of the passengers, who also happen to be drivers, volunteered to remain onboard MV Starlight Saturn to secure the roro vessels and the belongings that were left behind.

MV Starlight Saturn had 99 passengers and 55 crew members on board when it left the port of Surigao City.

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