PCG chief lauds Ormoc’s crisis response capabilities

Smoke billows from the M/V Wonderful Stars vessel where firefighters train their hoses. (Photo by Dante Raden)

THE head of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) here cited the Ormoc’s capability in handling emergency situations following another sea mishap that happened over the weekend. Capt. Jose William Isaga, acting commander of the PCG Eastern Visayas district is referring to the burning of a passenger boat.

M/V Wonderful Stars caught fire early morning of Aug. 15 shortly after arriving from Cebu. Based on the ship captain’s incident report, the vessel arrived 3:30 am and was fully docked at Ormoc port 15 minutes later. After the passengers have disembarked at 4:05, the hatch man reported to the captain about a fire at the cargo deck.

The chief officer confirmed the report at 4:06 am and the captain immediately activated the vessel’s emergency response team. By 4:20, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. No casualties were reported but three crew members suffered minor injuries and suffocation while trying to put out the fire.

But according to some passengers, the boat’s airconditioning system died and the lights began to flicker when they reached Ormoc Bay, particularly off the coast of Merida town adjacent to this city. The vessel then picked up speed towards its destination.

The flames raged on throughout the day until a fire out was declared at 11:10 pm or after 19 hours. Isaga attributed the fierce flames to the vehicles that burned at the cargo deck. The boat carried 23 rolling cargoes but only six cars were safely unloaded. As of press time, 11 charred vehicles were retrieved while the rest remained on the boat.

Owned by Roble Shipping, Inc., the 1,200 gross ton M/V Wonderful Stars had a passenger capacity of 855 but it carried only 544 based on the manifest. Cause of the fire is still being determined.

Isaga lauds the quick response of the Bureau of Fire Protection, and Ormoc Search and Rescue Team. “Kusog, paspas gyud ang kooperasyon ug prompt response sa atong LGU (local government unit) ug mga government agencies diri,” he said.

“Kay kung imong tan-awon, 4:20 am  nadawat (sa BFP) ang alarma; 4:25 o five minutes lang ang coast guard ug bombero naa na dayon,” he went on. “Samtang nag-combating fire, nag-abot-abot ang Red Cross ug Ormoc Rescue. Ang pulis nag-cordon dayon. Ang army niabot dayon. Wala pay 30 minutos kumpleto na.

PCG rescuers circled the vessel with the use of a rubber boat to look out for trapped passengers. They rescued a crew member who jumped off the boat. The oil spill contingency team is on standby considering the boat still has 12,000 liters of fuel.

“Unya gi-activate dayon ni mayor ang Incident Command Center. Mayor (Edward) Codilla took over as the responsible person or chairman. Unya naa mi dayon designated spokesman – the only one who can talk to the media. So plantsado kaayo,” Isaga continued.