Baltazar Tribunalo, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), inspects the towing of the MV Belle Rose. (CDN Photo/Ferdinand Edralin)
The Panamanian vessel MV Belle Rose which ran aground off Monad Shoal in Daanbantayan has moved 85 meters backward, an official of the Malayan Towage and Salvaging Corp. and the Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu station confirmed yesterday.
“The movement (backward) was due to high tide and the discharge of water from the forward section of the vessel,” Noel Kimmayong, marine superintendent of the Malayan Towage and Salvaging Corp., said.
PCG-Cebu station commander Agapito Bibat also confirmed to Cebu Daily News that three more portable pumps were used yesterday to discharge water.
The initial plan was to discharge 500 tons of water from the vessel for a 10 centimeter rise. The salvaging operation continued at 9 a.m. yesterday.
Two tugboats were used to pull the vessel backward while one remained at the front section to maintain the balance.
The operation stopped at 11:30 a.m. yesterday because of the low tide. Yesterday’s tide was at 1.7 meters.
After the operation yesterday, a follow-up dive was conducted. Baltazar Tribunalo, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), also confirmed the backward movement of the vessel.
He said the first option to pull the vessel backward while discharging some water from the vessel will continue.
The salvaging operation resumes today with an expected tide measuring 1.8 to 1.9 meters.
The salvor company initially tried to remove the vessel last Saturday but it failed because of low tide and the vessel’s front section was heavy.
Bibat said a joint assessment is needed to evaluate the cost of damage at Monad Shoal.
“As of now we cannot determine yet because we haven’t finished recovering the vessel,” he said.
William Villaver, Coastal Resource Management Officer, said the Monad Shoal is composed of acropora (fast-growing) and non acropora (slow-growing) coral reefs.
There are diverse corals in the Monad Shoal that include encrusting corals, submassive, massive corals, foliose (branching corals) and digitate.