ILOILO City – Two Ilonggos were among the four people missing after a fire broke out on a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea.
Danish Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping company, said a South African, two Filipinos, and an Indian national were missing but 23 other people were rescued from its Maersk Honam vessel on Tuesday.
The two Ilonggos were engine cadets from John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) – John Rey Begaso of Barangay Balabago, Jaro district here and Janrey Genovatin of Barangay Cagbang, Oton, Iloilo. Both were 21 years old.
The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by northeastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the east by India.
Maersk Honam caught fire off Agatti Isles in Lakshwadeep Islands near India.
Another Ilonggo onboard Maersk Honam, 21-year-old engine cadet Carl Vincent Chan, was injured but luckily rescued.
According to JBLFMU chief executive officer Dr. Ronald Raymond Lacson Sebastian, “The university stands committed to assist the families of these cadets to be in communication with their mother company, Maersk Line, for necessary updates and other pertinent information.”
In its website maerksline.com, Maersk Line stated that fire broke out at Maersk Honam on March 6 at around 15:20 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or 3:20 p.m. in the Philippines. The container ship was en route to the Suez Canal in Egypt from Singapore.
After being unsuccessful in their firefighting efforts, the crew sent out a distress signal and a total of 23 crew members were evacuated to vessel ALS Ceres, which arrived at the scene around 18:30 GMT (6:30 p.m. in the Philippines).
The crew members were handed over to the Indian coastguard and received medical treatment.
“We are doing our outmost to care for and closely follow the conditions of all evacuated colleagues. Also, we have an ongoing contact with their closest relatives,” according to Søren Toft, chief operating officer of AP Moller-Maersk.
He added: “While the search operation continues, the hope of finding our missing colleagues is fading…We are in contact with their families and they know that tragically, the time passed decreases the likelihood of finding their loved ones alive. Our thoughts and prayers go to them.”
Here’s the breakdown of nationalities of Maersk Honam’s crew:
* Indian – 13
* Filipinos – 9
* Romanian – 1
* South African – 1
* Thail – 2
* British – 1
Maersk Honam was carrying a total of 7,860 containers.
As of this writing, the cause of fire remained unknown.
Maersk Honam was built in 2017 at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea./PN
