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EVEN with a strong clamor from business leaders in Cebu and the Visayas, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) yesterday said it won't lift the order grounding all Sulpicio Lines Inc. vessels until an audit is finished.
In a press conference in Cebu City, Marina administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said it is up to the agency's board of directors chaired by Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza to lift the order following an audit report on SLI's vessels that he may submit next week.
He called on shipping company owners not to ask patrons to lobby for them if their vessels fail to pass safety requirements.
Suazo said while he understands the sentiments of the businessmen, their call could not be granted at this time.
"I sympathize with them but I can not make decisions on my own. I have to be guided by the decision of my board of directors, if I'm directed to do it, then I will follow,” he said.
In Congress, legislators called on Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to locate all survivors, including crew members of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars.
Cebu 6th Dist. Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz said she will support the continued grounding of SLI vessels until all the families of the victims are given benefits due to them.
Soon-Ruiz said she will join the Congress inquiry on the sinking incident since a lot of the victims were constituents
The lawmaker said she wondered why another passenger vessel the same size as the MV Princess of the Stars managed to reach Cebu safely during Typhoon Frank's onset.
“Could it be that the engine of the Princess of the Stars conked out?” Soon-Ruiz asked in Cebuano.
Meanwhile, Suazo said Marina has yet to evaluate the effects of the suspension of operations of SLI passenger-cargo vessels on the movement of cargo nationwide.
Suazo said Marina is coordinating with other shipping companies to find out if their vessels can accommodate delivery of the goods supposedly intended for Sulpicio vessels.
Safety requirements
He said they will also check the volume of actual cargo movement since the months of July to November is a lean season. They have audited eight of 14 Sulpicio vessels, two of which are used to deliver human remains of passengers of the sunken Princess of the Stars to Cebu for examination.
Suazo said the board may order the Marina to require SLI to repair their vessels after which another audit will be conducted to determine their sea worthiness.
After Sulpicio, Suazo said the Marina will audit all other passenger and cargo vessels nationwide.
He said he will recommend to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to ground vessels that failed to pass safety requirements gradually to avoid affecting cargo movement.
Suazo also said Marina cannot consolidate their investigation with the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) as requested by Sulpicio lawyers since they have separate purposes.
He explained that Marina issued an order to SLI requiring them to explain why their certificate of public convenience or franchise will not be cancelled, while the BMI is focusing on the cause of the vessel's sinking.
Meanwhile Suazo lamented that shipping companies often call on powerful patrons to bail them out in case their vessels fail to comply with Marina requirements.
Complaints
Asked if he was referring to politicians, the Marina official declined to elaborate.
"I am implementing now an audit-based inspection. The purpose there is to find a way and see whether our shipping companies are complying with the standards set by Marina,” Suazo explained.
He reiterated that the audit is not to find fault but to establish whatever lapses are committed by the shipping company so these can be corrected.
Suazo also said any audit of vessels, which usually take two to four days, won't prosper if Marina inspectors connive with the shipping companies. With stories from Reporter Dale Israel and Correspondent Justin Anjuli K. Vestil
