A fast craft that lost control while maneuvering at sea collided with a cargo vessel off Mandaue City, Cebu on Sunday afternoon, May 21.

(Courtesy of PCG)

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) identified the vessels involved in the accident as fast craft MV St. Jhudiel and cargo vessel LCT Poseidon 23.

Rear Adm. Armando Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said MV St. Jhudiel experienced a steering casualty and engine trouble which caused it to collide with LCT Poseidon 23 while transiting Mactan Channel in the vicinity waters of Barangay Looc at 2:52 p.m.

“Dito sa particular na incident, nagstuck yung rudder. Iyon ang nagco-control ng direksyon ng barko. In layman’s term kung na-stuck ka ng ganoon, wala ka ng way para mapagalaw ang barko kung saan mo gusto (In this particular incident, its rudder got stuck. It was the one controlling the direction of the ship. In layman’s term, if that is stuck, there is no way for you to move the ship wherever you want it to),” Balilo said in an interview with reporters on Monday, May 22.

A rudder is a part of the steering apparatus of a vessel which is fastened outside the hull and is used to determine which way the vessel would go while it is being maneuvered.
 
MV St. Jhudiel departed Ormoc City, Leyte and was bound for Cebu City when the incident occurred. It was carrying 197 passengers. 

Meanwhile, LCT Poseidon 23 was on its way to Ormoc City from Mandaue City. The cargo vessel was carrying 17 rolling cargoes and 20 passengers (drivers and cargo helpers). It returned to its port of origin in Ouano Wharf to assess the damages it incurred.

“Ang initial report sa atin parang port to port ang banggaan (The initial report we received is that it was a port to port collision),” Balilo noted.

Search and rescue teams from the PCG and Philippine Navy (PN) immediately responded to the scene to help evacuate the affected passengers.

Lt. Junior Grade Abigail Jean Laturnas, of the PN Naval Forces Central, said 28 passengers from MV St. Jhudiel suffered injuries and were given first aid treatment.

Six of those injured were brought to Mactan Doctors Hospital for further assessment while 22 others were escorted to Pier 1, Cebu City.

All the other passengers were safe and also brought to the pier.

Investigation

Balilo said that the PCG already deployed its Marine Casualty Investigation Team to Cebu to determine the exact cause why MV St. Jhudiel suffered a steering casualty.

(Courtesy of Philippine Navy)

Apparently, the fast craft had encountered a problem on its hydraulics system last week and investigators were determining if it was connected to the  collision.

“Mayrong report na last week meron na silang problema doon sa barko pero naayos, at ngayon nagkaroon na naman sila ng problema (There was a report last week that the vessel encountered a problem but it was fixed, and now they have an issue again),” Balilo said.

“Hydraulics naman, pero tinitignan ng mga imbestigador kung related sa nangyari ngayon para malaman natin kung ‘yung sea worthiness ng buong barko noong mangyari ang magiging dahilan kung bakit nalagay sa panganib ‘yung mga pasahero (It was in their hydraulic system but the investigators will look into the possibility that it might be related to the accident now to establish if the sea worthiness of the vessel is the reason why the lives of the passengers were put in danger),” he added.

Balilo said they also received information that the operations of the two vessels were suspended by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) pending the result of an investigation as to the exact cause of the steering casualty.

Moreover, personnel from the Coast Guard Marine Environmental Protection Force - Central Visayas were dispatched on the scene to conduct an oil spill assessment.