Pedrito Faytare (left), lawyer for the owner of the cargo vessel MV Belle Rose, meets with Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III (at right, back to camera), Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot (second from right), Provincial Board Member Sun Shimura (second from left) and Baltazar Tribunalo, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) as they discuss updates on the Monad Shoal situation at the governor’s office. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Nearly a month after their vessel ran aground off Monad Shoal in Daanbantayan town, the management of the Panamanian vessel MV Belle Rose was advised to set up an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS).
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Cebu Station Commander Agapito Bibat said the ECDIS can improve navigation surveillance and safety management procedures.
“This can also give them an advance alarm on shallow waters. The alarm will be detected by the vessel as well as the alternative route,” Bibat told Cebu Daily News.
The Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu station issued this recommendation to Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the class society which MV Belle Rose belonged to.
Bibat said the Filipino crew used a paper chart system which only had a navigational route.
MV Belle Rose ran aground after encountering shallow water on its forward section.
It refloated more than a week later after it was pulled backwards by tugboats.
The Coast Guard said they will also recommend to the Daanbantayan municipal government to set up buoys along Monad Shoal.
Bibat said these will serve as markers that will identify the shallow portions in the area.
“These (buoys) have lights so these can be easily detected,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Ship captain Vichar Neil delos Reyes was asked for a copy of their radar screen to show their alteration course.
Bibat said their initial investigation showed that there were target points.
“There are target points that identify vessels within the area. MV Belle Rose altered course to star board,” Bibat said.
Delos Reyes earlier claimed they tried to prevent hitting fishermen within the area only to run aground on Monad Shoal.
The Panamian government issued a single voyage certificate to MV Belle Rose last July 3 going to Keppel Subic Shipyard for repair.
MV Belle Rose arrived at the Keppel Subic Shipyard at 4:20 p.m. last Wednesday, Bibat said.
The vessel’s two water ballast tanks and forepeak tank were damaged. Bibat said he has no idea how long the vessel will undergo repairs.
Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot said their town will co-head an inter-agency task force that will rehabilitate Monad Shoal.
Loot said a closed-door meeting with Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III ended with the creation of a multi-sectoral task force that will include fisherfolk, the municipal government and the tourism sector.
Loot said fisherfolk cannot fish in the area since it is declared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a marine sanctuary.
“During the rehabilitation process, if we are going to involve the fisherfolk, this could increase the fish population and augment their livelihood,” he said.
Loot said the accident occurred one kilometer away from the famous diving spots in the area.
He said there will be a consultation in Malapascua Island to supervise the shoal rehabilitation.
Davide told reporters that the bulk of the $1.5 million settlement sought by the provincial government from the vessel owner will go to the affected sectors like the fisherfolk and the rehabilitation of Monad Shoal./with UP Cebu Intern Maurice Jitty M. Villaester