ILOILO City – Vietnamese cargo vessel MV Globe 6 ran aground in the waters between Nagubat Island and Liwagao Island in the municipality of Caluya, Antique on Aug. 12.
The ship had 17 crew and loaded with 113,000 bags of rice, according to Commodore Edgar Boado, district commander of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Western Visayas.
He identified the ship captain as Nguyen Hoai.
The vessel was from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and bound for Davao City.
“Wala naman na-injure sa mga crew,” said Boado.
The PCG deployed divers to the area via BRP Cape Engaño to inspect the vessel, specifically its hull, for possible damage.
“Plano kasi nila hilahin na para maalis sa tubig. Sabi ko tingnan muna ang sitwasyon baka mamaya may butas ‘yan. Delikado, di ba,” said Boado.
So far, no oil spill was detected.
PCG Region 6 will conduct an investigation as to how and why the vessel ran aground.
A report from PCG’s central office, however, quoted the ship captain as saying their Officer On Watch (OOW) fell asleep.
Four months ago, on April 3, a barge transporting 24,500 sacks of salt ran around off the coast of San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. The crew abandoned the barge.
Just this Aug. 3, the Antique Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and PCG in Antique clarified they have not found any oil spill when they inspected the stranded barge, MV Gemini 12.
PENRO Vivian Marfil said there was no oil spill contrary to the report of residents living along the coastline. The inspection was done on July 30.
“We found no traces of oil spill,” she said.
PCG Antique station commander Rodolfo de la Pena, too, on Aug. 2 said there was no oil spill upon the inspection of the PCG Environment Protection Unit.
He added that the barge would finally be towed within the week once the tugboat from Cebu arrives.
Barge captain Romeo Pacres said their vessel left Mindoro on April 2 supposedly to deliver 24,500 sacks of salt to concessionaires in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, and Tagbilaran, Bohol.
Their vessel ran aground while they were in the vicinity of Antique the following day.
“Seawater started to come into our barge through a hole that grounded our vessel,” he said.
He declared abandonment of the barge.
Pacres said he communicated with their shipping company to send a tugboat to tow the barge, but it took a long time.
“Upon our inspection, the sacks of salt have already melted because of the time,” Marfil said. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
