Engineer dead, captains suspended amid inquiry
The damaged vessel Starcraft 9 in pier 3, Cebu City after its collision with a cargo ship off Lawis Ledge in Talisay City.
(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
The ship captains involved in a collision off Lawis Ledge in Talisay City have been suspended.
The impact caused the chief engineer of fastcraft MV Starcraft 9, Romeo Astillero, to fall overboard and drown.
Regional Director Nannette Z. Villamor-Dinopol of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina-7) said an investigation will be conducted today.
Capt. Roman Pialago of Starcraft 9 and Capt. Jose Adaptar of cargo vessel MV Our Lady of Faith were suspended pending the results of the investigation.
The ship safety certificates of both seacraft were also suspended pending the results of an inspection to determine their seaworthiness, she said.
Weniel Azcuna, Philippine Coast Guard Cebu station commander, said Astillero was recovered by the fastcraft’s crew and rushed to a hospital. He failed to make it.
Normal route
Azcuna said Tio Fulache of the MC Phil Maru Shipping Corp. that owns the MV Our Lady of Faith and Flor Carnaser of Starcraft 9 management filed the marine protest of the two captains.
Azcuna said the two representatives agreed that they will not file a complaint against each other.
READ: 1 hurt in another ship collision in Talisay
He said Capt. Pialago claimed in his marine protest that his vessel radioed Starcraft 9 which failed to respond.
The two captains also claimed that their respective vessels were using the normal route.
“At the end of the day, both captains have the responsibilities. That is why further investigation is needed to determine who was on standby at the bridge,” Azcuna said.
Monitoring system
Last Wednesday’s collision highlighted the need for the government to fasttrack the implementation of the P80-million Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS) project.
The project will be funded through a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
It was supposed to start last month and was scheduled for completion in November next year.
But Azcuna said they lack documentary requirements and the site preparation has yet to be finished.
“We strongly believe that there should be a traffic monitoring system on the volume of passenger ships at the Cebu Mactan channel,” he said.
Radar sites
Azcuna said the project has been approved by both the national government and the Japanese government.
He said the project design has been completed and a contractor had already been awarded the project.
Azcuna said they still have to complete the study on the three radar sites.
The project will consist of the Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS) control center, a three-story building to be built within the Central Visayas Coast Guard District headquarters compound in Pier 3.
Three radar stations or towers will also be built in Talisay near the fishport, under the Marcelo Fernan bridge near the Maritime Police station and at the Bantolinao Point at the north entrance of the Mactan channel.
“The three radar sites will cover and monitor the whole stretch of Cebu Mactan channel. The main purpose of the radar is to locate and show us the positions of the vessels,” Azcuna said.
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