Sea travel in areas affected by tropical depression "Auring" has now resumed after experts said the weather disturbance further weakened and would likely to dissipate, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said sea travel in affected ports in Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Bicol, and Visayas areas have already resumed on Monday, Feb. 22.

“Kahapon pinayagan na natin maglayag ang mga biyahe dito sa Surigao, Bicol, at Visayas umabot tayo sa 5,000 kahapon, pero ngayon hindi na po sila stranded kundi may delays na lang sapagkat yung mga turnaround ng mga barko medyo mabagal (yesterday we allowed vessels to sail here in Surigao, Bicol, and Visayas we reached 5,000 stranded passengers yesterday, but now they are no longer stranded, but only have delays because the turnaround of ships are quite slow),” Balilo told GMA’s Unang Balita.

“We are expecting ngayong araw na 'to ay magnonormalize na ang operations dito (today operations will normalize in the affected areas),” he said.

Balilo said most of the vessels took shelter in other ports during the onslaught of “Auring.”

He said a maritime incident involving a fishing boat in Surigao was reported during the heavy rains.

“Narescue naman po other than that wala naman pong tayong maritime incident na naiulat (they were rescued but other than that no other maritime incident reported),” said Balilo.

Meanwhile, Balilo said that at least 300 trucks that contained vegetables and food supplies were stranded in the Lipata Port in Surigao del Norte during the cancellation of trips.

He added that 16 trucks which contained hogs to be delivered in Luzon will be prioritized for travel.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned that the low pressure area may still bring moderate to heavy rains over Camarines Norte, Aurora, and the northern and central portions of Quezon prior to its possible dissipation.