PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – A cargo vessel ferrying soda drinks to municipalities in northern Palawan ran aground Tuesday morning on the shore of Dumaran town.
Seaman 2nd Class Daryl Kim Tabang, duty officer at the Coast Guard Substation (CGSS) Roxas, identified the cargo vessel as M/V Lady of Manaoag owned and operated by Munti Carlo Sea Freight, Inc. (MCSFI) based in Lucena City.
He said the 196.49-gross tonnage cargo vessel ran ashore at Sitio Aguinaldo, Barangay Capayas, Dumaran, after taking shelter in the area Monday night due to strong winds and waves caused by the southwest monsoon.
“Kagabi at 8:30 p.m., nag-seek shelter sila doon sa lugar kung saan sila nabahura dahil sa lakas ng alon at hangin. Mga around 5 a.m. noong paalis na sila, napaandar pa nila ang main engine pero di nila nabalanse ang barko kaya ang ship bow mismo ang nakaharap na sa barangay (Last night around 8:30 p.m., they took shelter in the area where they got beached due to strong winds and waves. Around 5 a.m. when they were leaving, they started the main engine but was unable to balance the weight of the vessel that was why the ship bow now faces the barangay),” Tabang told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a phone interview.
Per inspection by their substation, Tabang said no oil leak was noticed around the area where the M/V Lady of Manaoag hit the shallow water in Capayas, a barangay in Dumaran.
He added, however, that a follow-up inspection will be done by the CGSS Roxas to ensure that its bow is undamaged and will not leak oil.
“May follow-up operation ang team namin to ensure na walang sira iyong bow ng cargo vessel para mag-leak ng oil (Our team will have a follow up operation to ensure that the bow is safe and will not leak oil),” he said.
The CGSS Roxas said an MCSFI sister vessel is waiting on standby to tow M/V Lady of Manaoag but they did not allow it as it is still low tide.
“The vessel will remain in the area to wait for high tide which is estimated to be around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) before it can be towed by its company sister vessel,” said Tabang. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
