Sea tragedies have become become common occurrences during the holiday season when city folks go home to the province to spend Christmas with families and relatives.
We never learn our lesson.Every tragedy, we bewail the overloading, the poor vessel maintenance and the questionable capabilities of the crew. But after the stories have ceased to be headline news, we go back to our usual slipshod “bahala na” attitude until the next tragedy.
The past week has seen two sea tragedies that claimed hundred of lives caused miseries to families in this supposedly season of joy.
Last Christmas eve, the passenger boat, an apparently overloaded M/V Catalyn B bound for Mindoro Occidental smashed into the larger, metal-hulled fishing boat F/V Anathalia at the mouth of Manila Bay.
Three days after, last Saturday, a roll-on, roll off interisland ferry MV Baleno 9 sank in the waters off Verde Island in Batangas with at least 90 passengers and crew on board.
Nico Cartalla, 2nd officer in the luxury ship Motoryacht Teleost, wrote his observations about the MV Catalyn B tragedy and his suggestions to make sea travel in the Philippines safer.
Nico said, “It is really sad to hear about the accident of Catalyn B. I used to ride that ferry quite a lot to Lubang a few years back whenever I visited my relatives who still live there up to now.
“Well, our Philippine maritime organizations have not learned their lessons up. A few years ago, I was onboard the Superferry when it collided with San Nicholas. My wife was so traumatized with that incident, up to now, she does not want to take the ferry anymore.
“As an officer onboard a ship I would like to recommend to our maritime bodies that they should impose a Traffic Separation Scheme around these hazardous areas especially the areas near El Fraile where the inbound and the outbound vessels going in and out of Manila Bay meet.
“These Traffic Separation Schemes is used in shipping lanes around the world and every mariner knows what they are because it comes with the rules of the road exams. If they don’t know about it, they better start reading their Rules of the Road books again.
“Traffic Separation Schemes are imposed to direct traffic on busy shipping lanes just like Manila Bay. In the case of Manila Bay, El Fraile should be used as the Traffic separation area where all in-bound ships should pass on the right hand side of El Fraile on the Cavite side and the outbound ships should pass El Fraile on their Port side or their left hand side. This way there will be no confusion on who’s got the right of way and who doesn’t.
” We can also use El Fraile as a watch station to direct traffic using radars and AIS (Automatic Identification System) which is right now fitted on every ships and if these shipping companies have not fitted any of their fleets they should not be allowed to go to sea. With the use of ARPA( Automatic Radar Plotting Aparatus) every vessel and the watch station will be able to determine all the vessels’ movements and if the risk of collision exists on such vessels.
” If the watchkeeper assigned on El Fraile sees a risk of collision, he calls the vessel on Channel 16 VHF and with the use of AIS every vessel will know which one is being called by the watch station.
“If we do this this will make the entrance of the Manila bay a safer shipping lane to travel.
“It’s ironic that we send the best seafarers to the world and we cannot even make our own shipping lane safe. I am sure the govenment has a budget for this plan and we can use all those Maritime school students to help watch our seas as part of their training program. If the government can’t afford to do it, shame on them.
“I’m thinking of asking my company to donate the equipment and do it ourselves. Maybe volunteers can do a better job than government officials paid by our taxes who are just sitting on their asses. I hope they would not wait that they themselves or members of their families experience a sea tragedy before they do something. There is a clear way to make our seas safe, its with the maritime Rules of the Road and we should use it.
“Right now we are being branded to have the best seafaring people in the world but have the worst sea disaster record in the world. The 1987 Doña Paz tragedy, which claimed over 4,000 lives, has surpassed the Titanic in the list of maritime disasters.”
The Vessel Traffic Separation (VTS)scheme has been on the drawing board for ages. The last accident did not have anything to do with traffic separation; but some observations floated around cite the lashing of vehicles as the culprit.
The latest mishap had the President again ordering for an audit of all commercial ships (By Christian V. Esguerra, Christine Avendaño, Philippine Daily Inquirer,First Posted 01:20:00 12/28/2009)
“PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday ordered a full audit of all commercial vessels in the country in light of the two separate sea tragedies in a span of two days that left as least 10 dead and some 50 people missing.”
Taxi regulator as ship regulator?
C’mon, stop bashing ship owners, operators and the men and women in the industry. After all, if they are not “fly by nights” they have tons of certificates issued by MARINA and other government agencies allowing their vessels to operate.
Instead, we suggest to look into the staffing of MARINA, especially. The government has been spending a lot of money on scholarships for maritime administration; but what has happened to these people? They have been reduced to mere paper shufflers of the politically appointed honorable persons that have been running the maritime affairs of this country.
The existing one is trying to learn as much of maritime administration by making a lot of foreign trips having come from running the affairs of the land transportation agency. That is why vessels are now treated like they were land-based vehicles. Having a large shipowner on the MARINA board does not alleviate this deficiency; it simply just worsens it.
The previous MARINA Administrator, got appointed to the MARINA simply to complete a strangle hold on the PPA Board. He was a customs broker before his appointment to the MARINA. At least he was able to smell the sea at his place of work. That must have been sufficient for the appointing power to approve his appointment as MARINA Administrator.
It is the private sector that has become the beneficiary of the scholars that were sent abroad by the government. They may not be doing maritime administration work where they are right now; but surely knowing their peers that have chosen to remain with the MARINA which supervises these private agencies helps a lot.
To Senator Gordon who intends to look again into maritime accidents, please include a review of the qualifications of people that have been appointed to run this important maritime agency. You might still be able to save a lot of lives by appointing the right people to straighten out maritime administration in this archipelago. After all, you would not agree to appointing a taxi driver as a master of a seagoing vessel even if both have the required licenses — or, would you?
Maritime tragedies should not be blamed on anyone but to the hardheaded passengers who do not care whether their lives are at risk when boarding an overloaded ship/vessel; to the vessel’s captain and crews who do not seem to learn from past tragedies due to negligence; and the Coast Guards’ boarding team/inspectors who become lax of their duties tending to pass their responsibilities to both the ship crew and the passengers.
As a precaution – think SAFETY FIRST.
The first accident involving Catalyn B, a wooden-hulled passenger-cargo vessel and Anathalia, a steel-hulled fishing vessel is a traffic separation problem. It’s true that the VTS program has been on the drawing board for the longest time and the Coast Guard has been pushing for it all these years. Corregidor was identified as the the most ideal site. All outbound vessels(going out of Manila Bay) are supposed to pass starboard side of Corregidor and all inbound vessels should pass portside of Corregidor. Why is this not implemented? As usual, this is not a priority project of this administration. Baka maliit kasi ang kickback. The problem in this case is not traffic separation as correctly pointed out by MrG but crew competence. In meeting situations between vessels, they should always maintain port to port positions as provided by the nautical rules of the road. Apparently this was not observed by the fishing boat as the collision showed she was hit on the starboard side. Is this rule absolute? No. Nothing prevents the officer on duty to take all necessary precautions to prevent collision. You have radar and vhf radio on board to alert the meeting vessel to determine her intention(all vessels are considered she/her). I doubt very much if the wooden-hulled Cathalyn has a good working radar. In the second case in Verde Island, Batangas, it’s hard to speculate as to the real cause. Accounts said the water came in from the bow ramp. Unless she had a hole in her hull, the only way this can happen is if big waves destroyed her bow ramp and water inundated the spaces and made her list on one side and eventually capsized. But this cannot happen so suddenly. . .Remember na roro to. Lusutan lang dapat ang tubig sa unahan papuntang likuran. A plausible theory is that loaded vehicles were not properly lashed and they all shifted to one side when waves began to smash on the broad side of the vessel. When she listed, roro vessels are usually top-heavy, it was just a matter of time for her to keel over and sink. I’ve seen it happened before in a wharf where there was a mistake in loading heavy equipment and the ship keeled over in less than 5 minutes. All these are symptomatic of the poor maritime safety culture that we have in our country. No specific individual or government entity should be singled out. Even if u remove all the PCG clearing officers involved, this will not remove the problem of dilapidated ships and incompetent crew, many of whom got their licenses from PRC questionably. I have a lot of experiences with this. Though MARINA wants to fast track the phasing out of these wooden hulled passenger vessels,it cannot do so as smaller islands like Lubang Island in Mindoro that are not serviced by bigger ferries, will be isolated. One very important thing na palagi kung pinupuna. Tamad magsulat ang mga pasahero sa manifesto. They don’t realize how important this is in case of accidents dahil sa insurance claims. Yes, we never learn. Paulit-ulit na lang nagyayari ang mga ganitong sakuna. Safety is and SHOULD be EVERYBODY’S concern. Walang kwenta na nga gobyerno natin, tatamad-tamad pa tayong mga pasahero? Stop being passive. Be alert always. Report all unusual incidents. Report all MARINA and PCG people na patulog-tulog sa pansitan sa pagtupad ng kanilang tungkulin. Di dapat puede ang “puede na yan” na attitude.
Everything as suggested are in place. The separation schemes are there. Only things that are missing are the maritime calling or distress channel 16 that should call any ship and coastguard stations within a hundred miles. Its just that nobody is manning the store. Worst, there are no equipment around anywhere. Much worst is that no one on board our locals know what are suggested here and the rules of the road or watertight integrity of their ramps. I am only wondering if our authorities have any idea of what are suggested here, also. By the way, the fine prints of the insurance covers normally pays up on the negligence of the crew.
C’mon, stop bashing ship owners, operators and the men and women in the industry. After all, if they are not “fly by nights” they have tons of certificates issued by MARINA and other government agencies allowing their vessels to operate.
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Operating ships with wooden-hull, poor navigation equipment, overloading, etc. If one will look back considering the number of maritime tragedies involving passenger ships and the age of passenger ships used, one can conclude that ship owners and the maritime industry as a whole don’t care, so long as they make money!
In my opinion, if the ship owners are responsible, they will improve services by spending resources for needed equipment, training, safety, and new ships and will NOT condone “lagay” for maritime certificates to operate from government agencies.
Overloaded na at may bagyo pa, biyahe pa rin! Walang rules na sinusunod!
On the side of government agencies naman, they are mostly administered by unqualified appointed people who don’t know their responsibilities tapos malagyan lang ok na!
Passengers have no other option, unless they can afford to use passenger planes, if available, or if there are better choices.
If the maritime industry focuses is passenger safety and better services, anyway nagbabayad naman mga pasahero, and government agencies strictly enforce maritime rules and still work on improving it, nabawasan na itong problemang ito nuon pa!
Enough of this bullshit!
Pinoy-seafarers in Pinas take bahala-na shortcuts unless the captains are strict.
Per the Inquirer:
“The Senate blue ribbon committee also learned that the skipper of the Baleno 9 was not a certified ship captain but merely a “major patron.”
Many people don’t know this. The master of the vessel, regardless of size, is always addressed as Captain. The quoted report during the Senate investigation tends to highlight the fact that the master of the vessel, a certain Capt Andal is not qualified to man Baleno 9, the ill-fated vessel. Is this accurate? Wrong! A vessel’s manning requirement for officers depends on the gross tonnage of the vessel as set forth by the Philippine Merchant Marine Rules and Regulations of 1997. Baleno 9 is less than 1000 GT and the Master on board is required to possess no less than a Major Patron license. Andal isa Major Patron licensee so nothing is irregular here, UNLESS, the PRC license is fake which is common for smaller vessels whose owners are wont to scrimp on salaries of legitimate licensed merchant marine officers. I know how to spot one. Reporters should request MARINA or the PCG a copy of the PMMRR to check the manning requirements of vessels according to their gross tonnage for accurate reporting. I’m sure maraming di alam ito kaya maniniwala agad na di qualified yung Kapitan dahil Major Patron lang ang lisensya at di Master Mariner. Lalabas na tatanga-tanga na naman ang Coast Guard at di nalaman ito. This is not accurate.
More filipino sailors taken hostage by Somali pirates. [Under foreign officers on foreign ships, filipino sailors do well, apparently. And Filipinos’ english skills make them more useful in the high seas.]
Sa tutoo lang, nakakasawa na ang mga balitang sakuna sa dagat.
Years passed and there’s no closure yet to the Sulpicio Line incident. Previous to that were other so many similar incidents. Ganyan din ang mga accidents sa eroplano at kung ano pa. Every time there’s such an incident, the authorities were quick to announce investigation. The phrase “Heads will roll” has become very common. Pero wala din nangyayari.
Portion of news from INQ.
“Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Maria Elena Bautista said most of the RORO vessels in the country are for inland water use that were only allowed to sail on open seas after passing a certain class standard.”
“These are second-hand vessels from Japan and they are really designed for inland waters but we classed them, and if they pass the class standards then they are allowed to sail. Pag hindi natin in-allow walang matitirang barko sa Pilipinas (If we don’t allow them, there will be no ships left in our country),” she said.
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What class standards? these are vessels designed for inland water use!
That’s the point! Why allow RORO vessels designed for inland waters to sail in open seas with hundreds of passengers in the first place? Isn’t it that your mandate is to protect paying passengers first and make sure ship owners use ships designed for ocean travel?
Kaya maraming namamatay na di naman dapat!
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“The Marina administrator said that to correct their policies, they drafted an 18-chapter Maritime Code that is now pending before the Senate. She, however, said that this was now down to eight chapters due to strong lobbying by shipping companies.
“There are a lot of very influential ship owners and they have lobbyists. They have supporters in different political posts and it is very difficult as a bureaucrat to really push for what we really need,” Bautista said.
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Again, it goes back to our so called representative of the people, some of these lobbyists even represent our executive and/or congress. For a few pesos, they are willing to sacrifice their own people lives mapagbigyan lang ang mga maimpluwensiyang ship owners dahil sa pera!
What’s the point of having a maritime code bukod sa hindi na sinusunod, wala naman protection ang pasahero!
correction ..from GMANews not INQ.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/180463/ferry-in-batangas-sea-mishap-not-designed-for-sea-officials
Ang masama pa niyan olan ay kapag malakas ang olan. Lalong mahirap ang rescue operation.
Bulok na barko, bulok na sistema, bulok na intrumento, bulok na ahensya, bulok na gobyerno, bulok na presidente! ano pa aasahan mo? e di trahedya…
Totoo ngang nakakasawa na… ang ganitong balita… paulit-ulit… parang pangkaraniwan na lang… hindi na nakakagulat!
haay.. buti na lang.. ang pamilya ko… hindi kailangang sumakay ng barko!
Ang masama pa niyan olan ay kapag malakas ang olan. Lalong mahirap ang rescue operation.
Ang masama nito, wala na ngang ulan… may ganitong disgrasya pa… at masama pa din nito.. and rescue operation hindi talaga rescue kundi search and retrieval operation na lamang!
I hope they would not wait that they themselves or members of their families experience a sea tragedy before they do something.
Hindi mangyayari to.. marami silang perang pangbayad pamasahe sa first class na barko o eroplano o baka may sarili pa nga silang barko/eroplano…
“These are second-hand vessels from Japan and they are really designed for inland waters but we classed them, and if they pass the class standards then they are allowed to sail.” baka nman if they pass the “lagay” standard?
“Pag hindi natin in-allow walang matitirang barko sa Pilipinas (If we don’t allow them, there will be no ships left in our country),” she said.
Napakagagong katwiran naman nito… parang inamin na rin nilang palpak implementasyon nila. Hindi nman bibili ng sub-standard na barko mga owners and operators kung alam nilang hindi nila ito papayagang maglayag!
Kung may olan o may araw, hindi sila nadadala.
MPRivera – December 29, 2009 10:55 pm
Maritime tragedies should not be blamed on anyone but to the hardheaded passengers who do not care whether their lives are at risk when boarding an overloaded ship/vessel;
Walang kasalanan mga pasahero.. anong malay nila sa overloaded na barko? Wala din lang silang choice dahil kapos ang perang pamasahe… nagtitipid! Hindi kasalanan ang magtipid.
ang daming magagandang idea… kulang sa implementasyon. Ano bang dapat gawin para maiplement ito? ayaw kumilos ng gobyerno… puro dakdak! hanggang simula lang! walang aksyon! ano bang dapat gawin ng mga ordinaryong tao? pwde bang i-boycot muna ang pagsakay ng barko? huwag munang sumakay ng barko sa loob ng 1-2 years? kung may pera, mag airplane na lang… kung walang pera at uuwi sa province… tiis-tiis muna… mkakatipid pa!
Puro koraspyon kasi e. Sa halip na sa mahahabang tulay at viaduct o matitibay na ferries ang paglagyan ng pera ng bayan ay sa bulsa ni Gloria at Mike, mga tongressmen at pidalista napupunta ang pera para kina Juan at Juana.
Sa halos 10 taon na pekeng rule ni Gloria ay walang nabago kesyo lalo pang lumala ang mga trahedya sa maritima.
Kung disiplinado ang implementasyon ng mga alituntunin sa seafaring at maritime ay hindi ganito kadalas ang malas na darating sa mga ordinaryong pinoy na barko/ferries lang ang paraan para makauwi sa mga pamilya tuwing may okasyon.
Haaayyy….walang natututo o sadyang iniiwasang matuto!
Can’t expect much from the bastards, leaders, lawmakers, business like whose irresponsible enough to pressed their side of story and stand still with their lousy poker faced. Hate to look for the culprit but we need bodies to throw in jail for insensitivity as well as stupidity…ME Bautista, try harder.
Bashing shipowners is not enough, they should close down some shipping companies to get the message through that they mean business.
We’ve been very kind to these shipowners considering the circumstances, what about the victims?
clearpasig,
Yun na nga eh.. wala tayong maasahan sa ship owners, operators, govt agency, leaders, law makers. Pano lahat kasi sila nagagamitan.. lahat sila nakikinabang sa kabulukan ng systema. at sino naman ang kawawa? ang mga consumer, pasahero, ordinaryong mamamayan. kaya dapat ang kumilos and ordinaryong mamamayan. Pano? i-boycot ang pagsakay ng barko… kahit ilang buwan lang… hanggat hindi nila inaayos ang bulok na sistema at implementasyon!
Ang ro-ro ay mga barkong pangtawid lang o madaliang viaje.Hindi puede sa malalaking alon.Yong mga lumang gawa,phase-out na ,Yong improved version,nagkakaroon pa rin ng problema.Dalawa lang ang karaniwang problema nito,biglang pinapasok ng tubig at shifting of cargo.Hindi puede ang aanga anga sa ro-ro vessels.
Maraming puedeng gawin para maiwasan ang mga ganitong pangyayari o kaya to lessen the impact sa mga pasajeros.
Dapat may sapat na kaalaman din ang humahawak sa ating maritime industry at one hundred one percent hindi korapt.
Tama ka Perl. Dapat iboycott ang mga ito. Baka sakaling magbago kung makakaramdam ng pagkalugi sa tongpats na ibinigay sa mga lobbyists nila at iba pang buwis pribado. Para mabawasan ang yaman na ipinagpalit sa buhay ng tao!
Ang alam lang ng mga ito ay pera..kaya dapat labanan ng ikakalugi nila. Kung wala ng tumatangkilik sa malakabaong na barko nila baka magbago.
noong araw ang mga sinasakyan namin pauwi sa probinsiya ay malalaking barko luxury liners..gaya ng de la Rama Lines at walang mga nalulunod..siksikan din kasi puede kang bumili ng ticket habang lumalakad na ang barko…walang listahan ng mga pasajeros except sa mga first class which are very few..pero ngayon in the 21st century marami ang mga sakuna..bakit? hindi kaya kasi noong araw walang greed and corruption sa gobierno? at kung mayroon man ay hindi masiado? nakakalungkotkasi ang takbo sa atin ay paurong..smakk but terrible itong si puto.
We dont have any domestic passenger RORO on any ocean route around here. Cant decipher what I heard from the Marina boss on that matter. The RORO that sank lately was only crossing the very narrow passage between Mindoro and Luzon. With its unseaworthy condition, it could sink even at the Pasig River. Seaworthiness is based on the ship material and equipment condition and, expertise of the crew. The tragedy would be due to the latter.
in 1968 my friends and I (5 of us) took the M/V Cebu and naglibot..Manila..Cebu..Cagayan de Oro..Zamboanga..Davao and back..we stayed in the ship and while they were loading in the daytime..namamasyal kami.. we did not stay in a hotel..it was a fun experience. and inexpensive …pero sa ngayon hindi na ata magagawa ito…41 years after..
From Thomas Gray’s poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742): “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” Why so? Because when you open your mouth wide enough it could reveal an empty head.
Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Maria Elena Bautista said most of the RORO vessels in the country are for inland water use that were only allowed to sail on open seas after passing a certain class standard.
“These are second-hand vessels from Japan and they are really designed for inland waters but we classed them, and if they pass the class standards then they are allowed to sail. Pag hindi natin in-allow walang matitirang barko sa Pilipinas (If we don’t allow them, there will be no ships left in our country),” she said.
It used to be that only members of IACS – International Association of Classification Societies ltd. could submit vessel classification certificates acceptable to the MARINA. How MARINA can now class vessels (BUT WE CLASSED THEM)just escapes me. Does MARINA posses a magic wand given by the MEB fairy?
MrG:
Spot on! That’s no different from the outrigger bancas licensed by MARINA to ply the coastwise trade instead of bay and river only. . .
(If we don’t allow them, there will be no ships left in our country)- MEHB
This is not the first time that a MARINA head has admitted to allowing defective vessels to ply the trade. Do a search for “suazo, can of worms” with Goggle.
People that pretend to know how to Administer the Maritime Industry must be asked to show their credentials. Being head of the MARINA is unlike being President of the Philippines where all that is needed is popularity.
“Duque to leave DOH, endorses replacement”
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/180465/duque-to-leave-doh-endorses-replacement
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will soon move to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and is confident that his being a non-lawyer will not be a hindrance to his confirmation as the agency’s chairman.
Ito ang isa sa mga dahilan ng trahedya eh… wala sa ayos ang appointment. Take note, as Chairman pa!
Bukod sa pagkalalake nitong ni Duequen, duda ko sa motibo ng kasipagan nito nung kainitan ng AH1N1 Virus… araw-araw kugn mag-press release… halos ubusin nya oras sa primetime news for AH1N1 update… pero nung matapos umuwi si Gloria galing ibang bansa… tumigil na sya sa kaa-update… at huwag daw magpanic sa AH1N1.
Mukhang ginawa lang nya ang araw-araw na press release para hindi mapansin ng mga tao ang aktibidades ni Gloria sa ibang bansa. Hay naku, pati epidemya.. ginamit!
Duque wanted to run for the Senate under the opposition ticket but was rejected. He was forced to stay in the cabinet instead of running under the administration ticket knowing he would lose.
Statement of Bukidnon Rep. T.G. Guingona:
The recent sinking of M/V Baleno 9 and M/VCatalyn B indicates a chronic weakness in the regulatory system of MARINA.
These are just the latest in a long series of maritime disasters some of which have not yet been resolved to the satisfaction of all. MARINA continues to allow maritime companies to deploy substandard vessels with weak operating procedures. Either MARINA is captive to the industry or its incentive structure is flawed.
Why else have the shipping companies steadfastly refused to improve their services to the public? Threats of closure do not constitute effective regulation.
Statement of Sen. Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino III
The state of maritime transport in the Philippines seems to be a continuing “national tragedy.” During the last few days alone, we have witnessed two more ships sink, Catalyn B and MV Baleno-9, killing a still undetermined number of passengers.
The law is clear. Article 1755 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that “a common carrier is bound to carry the passengers safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with a due regard for all the circumstances.” While it is important for the investigation to proceed in order to determine liability on the part of the common carrier and other parties involved in these cases, the government has left many unanswered questions and appears not to have learned anything from past maritime disasters.
In June 2008, we witnessed the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars. What happened to this investigation? More importantly, what have the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and Philippine Coast Guard done to prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening again? The President must explain why these common carriers have been allowed to operate when they are unable to exercise the standard of care mandated by our Civil Code.
An archipelagic country such as ours is obviously dependent on sea travel. Most of our citizens also prefer this mode of transportation due to its affordability. It is therefore incumbent upon the administration to ensure that government agencies tasked to monitor shipping companies do prevent those that are incompetent from setting sail.
We have seen too many people die as a result of this administration’s inability or unwillingness to enforce the law. A government that repeatedly fails to ensure the safety of its citizens has no reason to continue in office.
From MBW, who is from Puerta Galera:
These sea tragedies are just so much near “home”. The most tragic we felt here was that of the “Commando ferry” incident last summer. People here lament that this incident made tourism dip down but I feel it really should be felt as a loss to lives than mere numbers on the municipality revenues.
I can only comment as a lay person. As to our discussions with friends (usually foreigners who have built and sailed their own boats even around the world!).Puerto Galera has many of these sea-farers who have found the place beautiful and retired here.
There is a simple technical solution but the mindset of the banca/ferry owners is the main hindrance to producing competent and sea-worthy vehicles.
Example: all wooden vessels are supposed to be phased-out. Catamarans are proven to be the safest passenger boats. But the island shipping owners insist on using the “katig” just because it is more affordable to make. Usually, these katigs become brittle or anay-infested in time and who inspects them? Pinoys have that “puwede pa yan” attitude more so virile boat-handlers.
In order to shield passengers from strong waves, they strap strong plastic tarpaulins around during rough seas. In the past years’ accidents, these tarpaulins were the very cause of passengers’ death when they got trapped when the banca keeled over.
A friend of ours designed a simple but sure-proof contraption that would help these tarpaulins fall off automatically once the banca keels over more than a certain angle. Our present mayor was delighted when our friend presented him a model. But was it implemented? I noticed they still have the same systems of strapping the tarpaulins.
One suggestion was also to post the name of the captain at the bancas so that the passengers can note their names. Nothing. The number of passengers are usually also observed by local tourists.Often during summer, there is a lot of overloading.Someone suggested that a noticeable number system be posted on the bancas so everyone knows that the banca is way over its load capacity. Nothing has been done about it.
Our local newsletter (which crops up now and then) as well as an online forum has always pointed out to the MARINA as being corrupt and inefficient. It seems to be coddling a lot of boat-owners, allowing them to ply even with insufficient equipment and un-licensed pilots, etc.
The ferry business is also big business…kaya maraming lobbyist. A few entrepreneurs wanted to compete with safer boats but insular interests take priority.
The laws should be strict at all times. Mga drinking buddies rin ang mga boat people at coast guards at times…siyempre. Kaya “puwede na yan”. These ferry accidents should stop!
perl,
Alam mo bang mula pa noong 1970′ ay sumasakay na ako sa barko mula Zamboanga hanggang Maynila? Noon pa man ay napapansin kong na marami sa ating mga kababayan ang nagtitiyagang magbiyahe sa loob ng dalawang araw at gabi na nakatalungko lamang sa isang sulok dahil wala nang mapuwestuhan? Alam nila ‘yun dahil last minute sila sumasakay at walang tiket dahil nga punuan na o kaya ay maaga pang nakasakay na subalit walang tiket at nagbabakasakaling mabawasan ang pamasahe kapag pinakiusapan ang checker o ang kapitan sa sandaling nag-i-inspeksiyon na ng mga pasahero sa laot.
Maige nga lamang noon ay walang mga paglubog na nagaganap hindi katulad ngayon dahil nga para nang isinumpa ang ating mga kababayan mula nang magpumilit maging pangulo ang ina ng mga maligno at ayaw nang umalis sa malakanyang. Kutsabahan kasi ang isa pang dahilan kaya kabikabila ang sakuna sa dagat.
At tama din ang sabi ni MBW. Isang dahilan din ang bulok na katwirang “puwede na o puwede pa ‘yan”.
While doing some searches about the latest tragedy on who said what, I chanced upon entitycube.research.microsoft.com . Check it out. You will be surprised about the information that have been amassed there. Trust me, it has something to do with everything that has been discussed on this page.
Cheers!!!
NoyNoy has made a strong statement about Pinas sea mishaps:
An archipelagic country such as ours is obviously dependent on sea travel. Most of our citizens also prefer this mode of transportation due to its affordability. It is therefore incumbent upon the administration to ensure that government agencies tasked to monitor shipping companies do prevent those that are incompetent from setting sail.
We have seen too many people die as a result of this administration’s inability or unwillingness to enforce the law.
A government that repeatedly fails to ensure the safety of its citizens has no reason to continue in office.If I am elected president, my administration will end these sea mishaps, and I, NoyNoy Aquino, will resign from Malacanang if another sea mishap happens under my administration.itong MARINA administrator,may karanasan ba ito sa dagat?Dati ba syang seafarer?Dati ba siyang capitan ng barko?Para kasing hindi niya alam ang mga sinasabi niya.
KUng totoo yong sinasabi ni Valdemar sa no.4 comment niya,nakakahiya tayo.sobra na tayong napag iwanan ng panahon.
sa maunlad na bansa,kahit fishing boat,isa lang siya,may radar siya,mayroon siyang vhf naka stand-by sa channel 16
A government that repeatedly fails to ensure the safety of its citizens has no reason to continue in office. -Noy2
This line of Noynoy should be made his motto, ibalandra katabi ng kanyang official presidential photo sa lahat ng lugar, in case he wins.
Pepito:
Para mo na ring sinisigurado na mapipilitang bumaba si Aquino pag nanalo ah. . .hehe. . . .kahit nga sa US e may barkong lumulubog lagi . . .mabilis nga lang ang responde. . .US e. . .
A government that repeatedly fails to ensure the safety of its citizens has no reason to continue in office. -Noy2
____
Big business that repeatedly fails to ensure public safety in their businesses has no reason to do business in our country!
Nakakalungkot ang paglubog ng barko na ikinamatay ng marami. Pero kapag lumubog si Gloria, iyan ang ikakatuwa ng mga tao.
Marina: 200 ships are old.
Many more like the superferries life span are already extended, pinulot from the scrapyards.Theres nothing wrong though with senior citizens for as long as the nuts and bolts are refurbished according to Hoyle. But beware of local statutes, civil codes and etc, all are always inherently defective. Ulterior interests and motives are spliced between the lines.
What we should really look into now is the continued use of the outriggered feries we call pumpboats and up to any size. This versatile craft do not pass any international safety convention. Any schooled mariner knows it cannot go through the simple test called inclining experiment to get the seaworthy mark. Economic woes however prevail over the death throes for its continued use.
“If I am elected president, my administration will end these sea mishaps, and I, NoyNoy Aquino, will resign from Malacanang if another sea mishap happens under my administration.” -Noyski
Tapang ni Noyski. Murphy’s Law might as well apply on his second day in office. Will he resign then? Mar Roxas might
as well sink one so he can take over, hehe…..Korina the sabunotera is an instant First Lady, hapi ni si Chi.
More accidents, more deaths from Pinas commercial shipping than from Pinas commercial airlines. How come?
[to henry90: last USA cruise ship that sank was in year 2000 — USS Sea Breeze sank off the coast of Virginia (no one died).
henry90: matagal na ako dito sa US ay wala akong nabalitaan na sakuna,,ngayon pala according to Pepito 9 years ago pa ang pinakahuli…how many times did you watch Titanic? sa pamamahala kasi ng gobierno natin..Satanic ang dahilan .. sad when we come to think of it the Phil. is known to be a Christian country..it is time for us to put Bro in our hearts…this 2010…Happy New Year!
tru blu, according to Eddie Murphy’s Law, what goes up must come down. Sa Tagalog, ang tawag ay Grabe ang Batas (Law of Gravity). Kapag mataas ang lipad, masakit kung bumagsak. This will happen to GMA this year in June.
Rose:
Yung sinasabi nya yung mga lumulubog na ferries. I’m referring to all types of vessels. Yachts and fishing boats. Sabi ko halos araw-araw e meron lumulubog sa Gulf Coast of Mexico. My point is mabilis kasi responde ng US Coast Guard. Chopper agad ang nasa scene kaya mabilis. Yun ang wala sa atin. Luma na nga mga barko na bumabyahe, limitado pa capability ng Coast Guard natin. Eto yung ibig kong sabihin dun.
From Carlo Inguito:
The crew- from the captain to the lowest rank- are a factor in sea tragedy. They knew what was going on in the ship. The overloading, the body of the ship, the condition of the machine, the condition of the communication equipment, the condition of the fire fighting equipment they knows. Why didn’t they speak and complain to the owner of the company.
Kung ayaw nilang i- maintain ng maayos ang barko di wag na silang sumakay or complain to the proper authority: MARINA or Coast Guard.
Mga nagbanggaan, problema ng nag-timon yan baka naka tulog , lasing or communication equipment failure, signaling, etc. rules of the road at sea kong sinong mauuna sa daan na yan. Pagtali ng mga kargamento, pag- arrange alam nila kahat yan.
Tapos ngayun, ang sisihin, gobierno. Ang Coast Guard, may pananagutan. Ngunit bago natin sisihin ang gobierno, tripolanti na muna kong ginagawa ba niya trabaho niya lalo na ang maintenance at safety.
From Michael Cuanzon, a maritime affairs consultant:
VTSM has been in place at Manila Bay, run ridiculously by PPA personnel. But it appears now they do not do know what is truly required or they just do not have the necessary training and understanding of a VTS.
One of the best systems is at Maas at Rotterdam.The people running this system there are Masters and Ship Officers so they know the application of the Collision Regulations while those at the Corregidor Station are personnel who do not have the sea experience required to adequately
run a VTS system.
That is why in spite of the expensive equipment,maritime disasters still happen in the area.
Have a joyous New Year!
True Mam Ellen. Iba kasi ang VTSS at VTSM. Separation scheme yung una. Safety monitoring naman yung pangalawa. Dahil nga di kaya ang VTSS, VTSM was implemented but this was manned by the wrong people who dont understnd the Collision Regulations or Rules of the Road. Parang reporing system lang kasi ang nangyayari. Inform mo ang VTSM na on such time and location, your vessel is in such Latitude Longitude. Pero sa aksidenteng to, di naman tumawag ang fishing boat na papasok sya sa Manila Bay, so di rin alam ng VTSM people. Para sa akin, good seamanship lang yan. May radar ka at marine band, walang rason na magbanggaan kayo. Naging Officer on Watch ako sa Navy ships for many years at kahit luma mga barko natin at Decca makakita ang radar ng barko, hehehe, never kaming nainvolve sa maritime accidents lalo na sa collision incidents. Mortal sin sa amin yun.
Mareregulate ba ng tama yang maritime industry natin e yung pinakamalaking shipping company at pinakamalaking Port Operator, parehong miyembro ng Malacañang Mafia?
Bakit hindi diretsahin ni Bautista na yung amo niya ang nagkakanlong ng mga mapagsamantalang negosyante, at kasabwat sa pagkamatay ng maraming manlalakbay-dagat?
Tapos magtataka pa siya na yung batas na na-draft nila, tinapyasan na ng husto pabor sa mga may-ari ng barko!
BTW, alerto ka, Mr. G, ha. Pagka topic mo ay nangunguna ka sa komento. Happy New Year!