Manila: Initial investigations into last week’s collision that saw a ferry sink off Cebu show discordant points of view from the two captains involved.
The captains of passenger vessel St Thomas Aquinas and cargo vessel MV Sulpicio Express Siete had different accounts about what happened.
Capt Reynan Bermejo of St Thomas Aquinas said the collision was caused by the cargo vessel which was on the same inbound lane as the ferry as it approached port. He said he could only steer the ferry towards the starboard side because of shallow waters on the port side. Bermejo said efforts to call the Sulpicio Express Siete failed.
Capt Rolito Gilo of the cargo vessel said he saw the passenger vessel on the port side approaching Lauis Ledge.
Gilo said calls to the passenger vessel went unheeded. A minute after the last call, the Aquinas ship responded with a red light and maintained its course.
However, according to Gilo, Aquinas suddenly turned starboard. He believes this is what caused the collision.
A formal investigation will be conducted by the Special Maritime Board of Inquiry.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) plucked six more bodies Wednesday morning from the sunken ferry.
The death toll from the ship collision incident rose to 71.
“As of 8:30 a.m. on August 21, 750 passengers were rescued and 71 casualties recovered while 49 are still missing and subject for search and rescue operations,” the PCG said on its official Facebook page. [21/08/13]
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