Cargo ship sinks off Antique, 1 dead, 19 rescued
One drowned and 19 others were rescued after a cargo ship loaded with 22,000 bags of cement sank off Antique Tuesday night, the Coast Guard reported.
Commodore William Melad, Coast Guard district commander for Western Visayas, said on Wednesday that the M/V Maria Lourdes capsized and sank between the islands of Sibay and Panagatan near Caluya town in Antique around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The 639.25-tonner vessel owned by the Candano Shipping Lines was bound for San Jose in Mindoro from Iligan when it sank after being battered by huge waves.
The surviving crew members were rescued by 1 a.m. Wednesday, Melad said.
Melad identified the lone fatality as Alex Tambasin, chief engineer of the cargo vessel.
The 19 crew members who survived the incident were identified as: Henry Edanio, ship captain, Jorge Siliacay, Victoriano Flores, Joseph Torralba, Donato Somito Jr., Ian Keith Atabay, Eric Boco, Urbano Abad Jr., Michael John Tibay, Manuel Belangel, Jerome Sumayan, Eric Briones, Charles Evasco, Philip Louise Robitid, Alden Gomez, Marlon Bertiz, Ariel de los Santos, Raul Almella and Joel Arana.
Melad said in a telephone interview that officials of the shipping line contacted the Coast Guard around 6 p.m. Tuesday and reported that the vessel was already listing after one of its engines malfunctioned.
The crew abandoned ship 30 minutes later before the vessel capsized. The survivors and remains of the fatality were recovered near Sibay Island.
At the height of the rescue operations, the Coast Guard lost contact with one of its rescue vessels.
The BRP Davao del Norte with 13 crew members was reported missing after it went out of contact around 5 a..m. Wednesday after it was battered by huge waves.
The vessel was located before noon yesterday by search and rescue helicopters from the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard 20 nautical miles southwest of Sibay Island, according to Melad.
The area of the sinking is generally known for strong currents and huge waves especially during this time of the year.
On December 18, 2005, a National Power Corp. (Napocor) power barge ran aground off the shores of Semirara Island due to strong winds and rough seas.
An estimated 364,120 liters of bunker fuel was spilled near Sitio Bobog, Barangay Semirara, the biggest of three villages of Semirara Island. The spill is considered the second biggest in the country’s history next only to the August 11, 2006 oil spill in Guimaras.
A cargo vessel M/V Ocean Papa also sank in the neighboring Culasi town last June 21 spilling its cargo including toxic chemicals that remain missing.