PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – The cargo vessel, M/V Lady of Manaoag, which was stranded on the shore of Dumaran town, northern Palawan, has not yet been removed from the area due to lingering tough winds and waves influenced by the southwest monsoon.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Hector Abila, station commander of the Coast Guard Substation (CGSS) Araceli, said Wednesday morning that the cargo vessel being operated by Munti Carlo Sea Freight, Inc. (MCSFI) remains stuck on the coast of Sitio Aguinaldo, Barangay Capayas, Dumaran since Tuesday.
“Nandoon ang ating mga tropa ngayon — kanina pang mga 7 a.m. para mag-assist sa sister company vessel pero hindi nahila dahil kulang ang haba ng rope at talagang malakas pa rin ang hangin at alon (Our personnel are there now — they left around 7 a.m. to assist its sister company vessel to tug it, supposedly, but the rope they have wasn’t long enough and winds and waves in the area are still really rough),” Abila told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
He said Munti Carlo 9, the sister vessel assisting in the operation, has stopped for a while to either request for a longer rope or suggest to MCSFI to send instead a tugboat that has the capability to tow larger ships.
He added that the towing operations will resume on Thursday when it is high tide in Dumaran.
Meanwhile, Abila assured residents of Capayas that no oil is leaking from M/V Lady of Manaoag, which could endanger their marine environment and fishing livelihood.
Abila said the CGSS Araceli personnel are regularly monitoring the condition of the cargo vessel to ensure that a leak would not happen.
“Wag po silang mag-alala kasi binabantayan namin at sinisiguro na hindi ito mangyayari. Safe at walang leak kasi nga nakapatong ang barko sa buhangin (They don’t need to worry because we are always on the lookout to ensure it will not happen. It is safe and has no leak because it’s on top of the sand),” he said. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
