Liloan bound RORO in near mishap

LILOAN - An old roll-on roll-off vessel owned by the Millennium Company stopped dead in the water for three-and-a-half hours when its engine stopped 30 minutes after it left Lipata Port in Surigao City in route to Liloan town Southern Leyte at 3 a.m. last Saturday.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said the vessel carrying 45 passengers and 17 crewmen had stopped due to its diluted fuel supply.
The vessel which which was sailing to Liloan was towed back to the Lipata Port after the incident.
Balilo said the Coast Guard had ordered the ship’s captain to file a marine protest about the maritime incident.
He said the document would serves as the official report of the incident which the PCG could use to determine whether the ship’s crew should be held liable for the fiasco.
The was the fifth maritime accident since last December when the MV Catalyn sank off Limbones Island of Cavite province on Christmas Eve which killed 27 passengers.
This was followed by the sinking of another RORO vessel, the MV Baleno 9, off Isla Verde in Batangas last December 26, leaving at least 48 dead.
The third involved the RORO vessel, MV Starlite Navigator, which ran aground last December 30 due to engine trouble.
Thirteen hours later, MV Torrejos, another passenger-cargo ship, stalled after encountering strong winds that caused the vessel to drift and run aground after it left Lucena city.
In yet another near sea disaster a passenger ship of the George and Peter Lines reported that its engine had stalled while on its way to Dumaguete from Dipolog city Saturday night.
Fortunately Chester Cokaliong, the owner of Cokaliong Shipping Lines which operates the MV Filipinas Iloilo, said they immediately responded to MV Georich's call for help and tugged the Beleaguered vessel to Dumaguete City.(By RUEVIVAR M. REYES)

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