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A review of the history and track record of Sulpicio Lines, and the
findings of various Marine Boards of Inquiry and Senate
investigations into the tragic disasters that have engulfed this
major shipping company, will immediately give the simplest reason
why it gets away with its wake of deaths and disasters.
The simplest reason is the inefficiency—some
have suggested corruption but The Times would not dare to go that
far—of the government agencies that are supposed to monitor the
maritime industry.
When suits are filed against Sulpicio Lines, the
shipping company’s lawyers are easily able to prove that the
records of the Marina, the Port Authority and the Philippine Coast
Guard do not show any wrongdoing on the company’s part.
Another reason is that the ships of Sulpicio
Lines account for a major part, some estimates put it at 20 percent,
of Philippine domestic cargo and passenger traffic.
Sulpicio’s competitors have benefited from the
Maritime Industry Authority’s decision to freeze Sulpicio ships.
But the government had to relent and lifted the ban on the
company’s cargo vessels.
When the Philippine Coast Guard issued new
guidelines that would require all ships to stay put in the port
where they are once Typhoon signal No. 1 is up at that port or at
any point from the port of origin and to the port of destination,
PISA—the Interisland Shipping Association—protested and offered
a compromise.
They said the new PCG guidelines could paralyze
the domestic commerce and negatively affect the whole economy.
They also pointed out that big ships—like
Sulpicio’s ill-fated Princess of the Stars—a
23,000-tonner—could safely face up to the wind power and waves of
signal No. 1.
However, the ship must be properly weighed with
ballast and any cargo it has must be properly stowed so that pieces
of cargo do not upset the required stability of the ship.
One of the criticisms leveled at Sulpicio in the
case of the MV Princess of the Stars is that it supposedly
sacrificed the passengers’ lives to profitability.
On Thursday the Board of Marine Inquiry
questioned Sulpicio Lines’ port captain about the stability of the
MV Princess of the Stars when it put to sea on June 20 despite some
of the ship’s ballast tanks being empty or not filled to capacity.
The tanks at the ship’s bottom are weighed with water to keep the
ship stable even with huge waves.
Sulpicio Manila Port Captain Benjamin Eugenio
admitted that two of the ballast tanks were empty so the ship could
accommodate its cargo.
Commodore Amado Romillo, a member of the Board
of Inquiry, chided Eugenio “for sacrificing the lives of the
passengers” by sacrificing stability for the sake of carrying
cargo. The MV Princess of the Stars is a passenger vessel and was
not meant to be a cargo ship.
But something could again help Sulpicio win this
point in a court of law.
In the Board’s hearing on June 30, an
apprentice engineer of the ship who had survived the sinking
testified that the MV Princess’ captain had ordered the men to
fill up the ballast tanks with water when the typhoon winds were
buffeting the ship.
This could be used by lawyers to show that the
Lines, represented by the captain himself, had tried to do the
necessary to prevent the tragedy.
When the ship is refloated it will be known if
the ballast tanks of the Princess were indeed empty or not.
Meanwhile, further answering the question “Why
Sulpicio gets away with its wake of deaths and disasters,” here is
the ultimate reply: Sulpicio claims that the captain sailed in
defiance of the company’s order to stay put because there was a
typhoon.
Capt. Benjamin Eugenio testified at the Board of
Marine Inquiry that three hours before the vessel sailed on the
night of June 20, Sulpicio had received a strong storm advisory from
the Pagasa weather center.
Romblon, Pagasa said, was already under signal
Number 2. Masbate was under signal Number 3.
Eugenio said he warned Capt. Florencio Marimon
against sailing but the Princess’ captain said he could “still
do it but with caution.”
Eugenio claimed that he even called Marimon when
the Princess was between Cavite and Batangas. But the ferry captain
said he would proceed as planned. Later, Eugenio said, he could no
longer get in touch with Marimon.
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