By Betheena Unite
A foreign cargo vessel loaded with tons of wheat ran aground off Lauis Ledge House in Talisay, Cebu Saturday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
(Photo of Philippine Coast Guard)
Foreign cargo vessel “MV Arikun”, a ship of Panamanian flag, reportedly ran aground in the waters off Lauis Ledge Light House. It was carrying a total of 4,210 tons of wheat and has a total of 18 crew onboard, the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard environmental protection unit, safety inspectors, rescue personnel and a medical team were deployed to the area to verify the incident and conduct rescue operations.
According to Commodore Ronie Gavan, commander of Coast Guard Central Visayas, the Coast Guard Talisay Station received a phone call from Vessel Traffic Monitoring System at 7:30 a.m., informing them that a foreign cargo vessel named MV “Arikun” figured in a sea mishap in the said vicinity.
It was then found out that the vessel is bound for Cebu International Port (CIP). It was entering the Traffic Separation Scheme of South Cebu-Mactan Channel at around 7 a.m. when the incident took place.
The vessel was carrying 287,167 liters of fuel, prompting the Coast Guard environmental protection unit to check for a possible oil spill.
Gavan, however, said that ‘no oil spill was observed but further monitoring and assessment is in progress.”