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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ro-ro vessel tilts, runs aground off Romblon; 129 persons saved

Ro-ro vessel tilts, runs aground off Romblon; 129 persons saved

Published Jul 16, 2023 07:02 am
A roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessel carrying 129 passengers and crew members tilted and ran aground off the shoreline of Banton, Romblon on Sunday, July 16.

*MV Maria Helena tilts and runs aground while sailing in the vicinity waters of Brgy. Nasunugan in Banton, Romblon on July 16, 2023. All the 93 passengers and 36 crew members were rescued. (Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

* According to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), MV Maria Helena left Lucena Port in Lucena City, Quezon Province bound for San Agustin Port in Tablas, Romblon when it listed at approximately 100 meters from the shoreline of Barangay Nasunugan around 1 a.m. Onboard the vessel were 93 passengers and 36 crew members, as well as 16 rolling cargoes including motorcycles. Captain Elmo Sumocol, skipper of MV Maria Helena, said the listing occurred after a tire of one of the rolling cargoes onboard suddenly blew up, which broke the vessel's lashing. A lashing refers to an arrangement of rope, wire, or webbing to secure and fasten cargoes onboard a vessel. The incident was reported to Coast Guard Station Romblon by Christian Vergara, a resident of Barangay Bagacay in Romblon, whose cousin and friend were passengers onboard MV Maria Helena. The Coast Guard Station Romblon immediately deployed personnel for search and rescue operations. The vessel eventually hit shallow waters at 2:12 a.m., making the operation a race against time as it was slowly being filled by seawater. "MV Maria Helena ran aground and was observed to be listing 10 degrees to portside due to an imbalance of cargoes and seawater inside the vessel passing through its drainage," the PCG said. The PCG said all the passengers and crew members started to disembark the distressed vessel using lifeboats at 3:06 a.m. They were accounted and brought to a nearby covered court in Barangay Nasunugan for an initial check-up. Sumocol told the PCG that the sea condition was calm when they were sailing and there were no signs of hull cracks or holes on the vessel in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Two crew members of MV Maria Helena decided to stay onboard to assess and monitor the status of the vessel. Meanwhile, MV Maria Helena contains approximately 21,000 liters of marine diesel oil (MDO), according to the vessel's captain, and the PCG's Marine Environmental Protection Group in Romblon was placed on standby for possible oil spill response. The distressed ro-ro is operated by Montenegro Shipping.

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maritime incident Romblon PCG
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