Manila: The Philippine Coast Guard has demanded that 2GO immediately remove the wreck of the sunken ferry St Thomas Aquinas, which collided with a freighter off Cebu on August 16 killing more than 100 people.
The coast guard said the wreck poses a navigational threat for vessels transiting the busy Mactan Channel as well as a threat to the marine environment.
“It is imperative that the MV Thomas Aquinas be removed out of the water immediately as the ship is near the only double barrier reef bank in the country – the Danajon Bank, known historically as the evolutionary source of fish and coral species in the Philippines,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia Oceans Campaigner Vince Cinches said.
The wreck is still leaking bunker fuel and diesel, observers say. [07/10/13]
