ILOILO CITY — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has prevented cargo vessel M/V Ricky Rey, owned by the Fortune Sea Carrier, from sailing pending the “certificate of seaworthiness” to be issued by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), an official said Monday.
In an interview, Lt. Commander Rodolfo dela Peña, PCG Iloilo Commander, said he issued a “notice of detention” for the vessel as part of their procedure, after it ran aground along the mouth of the Iloilo River last Saturday.
During incidents like these, he said the PCG and MARINA immediately detain the vessel for further inspection and investigation. It is now on anchorage around 1,400 yards west of Salag Point off Buenavista, Guimaras.
“Our special operations group has also conducted an underwater hull inspection to find out whether or not there is a crack on its hull,” he said.
The result of the initial investigation showed no crack or any damage to the hull and there was no oil spill that was detected. The vessel had 14,100 liters of diesel fuel during the incident.
“Its hull was intact based on our inspection but what is official is that of the MARINA,” he said.
The vessel ran aground approximately 50 meters from the Parola Terminal while navigating the Iloilo River past noon of Oct. 6. It came from the Muelle Loney area carrying some 200 metric tons of coconut cake bound for Cebu.
After two attempts, the cargo vessel was extracted from the site by tug boat Shirley II, approximately 50 meters from the Parola Terminal, around 8:50 p.m. of the same day.
Joseph Rhoel Pador, Senior Shipping Operations Specialist of MARINA 6, said the inspection will be held Monday afternoon. The underwater inspection will be undertaken by an accredited team tapped by the cargo vessel’s firm.
The team will then make a recommendation to their central office, depending on the result of the inspection.
He also clarified that MARINA will no longer issue a certificate of seaworthiness but instead lift the suspension that will be issued by their administrator based on their recommendation.
MARINA ordered the suspension of the vessel on the same day the incident happened.
Meanwhile, dela Peña said it is not the first time that a vessel gets stranded in the shallow portion of the Iloilo River.
Since 2012, not less than 10 vessels have already ran aground in the area.
“Due to siltation, Iloilo River has become shallow,” he said.
He added that there is only a portion or channel along the river where vessels can pass. Only one vessel has to pass the channel at one time, unlike before when two vessels can pass simultaneously.
The shallow portion is located on the left side when going out from the Iloilo River.
Meanwhile, in a previous interview, Panay Guimaras Port Management Office of the Philippine Ports Authority Division Manager Eduardo P. Goles said the dredging of the river is their top priority, including it in their 2019 projects.
The dredging will start from the mouth of the river toward the portion near the Muelle Loney where the Esplanade project of the Department of Public Works and Highways ends. ( Perla Lena/PNA)
