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By Anthony Vargas, Reporter
After claiming that the sinking
of their ship MV Princess of the Stars was an “act of God,” an
official of Sulpicio Lines Inc. blamed the weather bureau for
causing the incident in central Philippines last week.
Nestor Ponteras, Sulpicio’s
port captain in Cebu, cited “inaccurate” bulletins from the
weather bureau on the path being taken by Typhoon Frank as the
vessel passed by Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on June 21. He
seemed to suggest that government incompetence led to the tragedy.
During resumption on Friday of an
official investigation of the sinking, Ponteras testified that the
ship left the port of Manila using a bulletin from the bureau as a
guide in plotting its course on its way to the province.
He told the Board of Marine
Inquiry that he was in constant touch with Florencio Marimon, the
captain of Princess of the Stars. Ponteras said Marimon was a very
able shipmaster. During a conversation, he added, Marimon sounded
like he was getting confused on the weather bulletin.
“I will try to evade the
typhoon . . . what happened to Pagasa, their [weather] forecast is
different?” Ponteras quoted Marimon as telling him over mobile
phone. Pagasa, or the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration, is the national weather
bureau.
He said Marimon’s statement
came after the ship captain seemed to have realized that the course
taken by Princess of the Stars put them directly in the eye of the
typhoon.
Ponteras said Marimon then
decided to plot a course toward the Tablas Strait, which, based on
the bulletin of the national weather bureau, supposedly was some 160
kilometers away from the eye.
He added that Typhoon Frank
suddenly changed its direction, but that the weather bureau, in
another bulletin, reported such change six hours later.
Had the new bulletin been relayed
on time, Ponteras said, Princess of the Star could have taken much
safer routes.
He added that the last
communication that Sulpicio Lines received from the ship was a text
message from his nephew, a ship official, describing the vessel’s
situation.
“Uncle, we are at the center of
the storm, we are listing 40 degrees at portside. There’s an order
to abandon ship, passengers are now in life jackets, please pray for
our safety,” Ponteras quoted his nephew as saying.
Vic Vic Florido, a lawyer for
Sulpicio, said Ponteras’ testimony showed that the supposedly
inaccurate bulletins from the weather bureau were a factor in the
disaster.
The bureau “brought about this
unfortunate incident and [it was] unable to predict accurately the
path of Typhoon Frank,” Florido told reporters at the sidelines of
the hearing.
A member of the Board of Marine
Inquiry said Marimon should not have depended entirely on the
bulletins from the national weather bureau. Rear Adm. Benjamin Mata
cited “instruments [on the ship] like barometer that could be used
in determining the [state of the] weather.”
The chairman of the board, Rear
Adm. Ramon Liwag held comment on Ponteras’ accusation. He told
reporters that he would summon officials of the weather bureau to
the next hearing on Tuesday next week.
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