A roll-on roll-off passenger vessel carrying 129 people ran aground and listed off Banton town in Romblon early morning yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.
All the 93 passengers and 36 crew members of MV Maria Helena, owned by the Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc, are safe, the PCG said.
The Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog (CGDST) said it received information about the grounding of MV Maria Helena about 100 meters from the shoreline of Barangay Nasunogan at around 2:12 a.m.
The CGDST said the vessel, which came from the Lucena Port in Lucena City, Quezon was en route to San Agustin Port in Tablas, Romblon when it figured in the mishap.
It said the vessel was also carrying 16 rolling cargoes at that time.
The CGDST said the vessel “ran aground and was observed to be listing 10 degrees to portside (left side) due to an imbalance of cargoes and seawater inside the vessel passing through its drainage.”
Citing information from ship captain Elmo Sumocol, the CGDST said the vessel listed “due to the explosion of one tire of one of their rolling cargoes onboard, which broke the lashing.”
It said Sumocol informed the PCG the sea condition was calm at the time of the mishap.
Sumocol also told authorities that there were “no signs of cracks or holes on the ship’s hull.”
Passengers started disembarking from the vessel at around 3:06 a.m. using lifeboats.
Personnel from the Coast Guard and local passenger boats in the area assisted in the disembarkation of the passengers, who were later brought to a covered court in the barangay.
The PCG said Sumocol and the ship’s quartermaster remained in the vessel “to monitor the vessel and the rolling cargoes.”
The CGDST said the vessel has around 21,000 liters of marine diesel oil on board.
It said the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Group in Romblon is on standby for a possible oil spill.
