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Cebu City, Philippines – The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has begun a comprehensive audit of all passenger and cargo vessels operating in the country.
Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said the audit-based inspection sought to find out if the shipping companies have been complying with the safety standards and other policies set by Marina.
Suazo said the audit was actually started last June in Batangas but this had to be stopped in late June because Marina auditors were pulled out to focus on inspecting the vessels owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI), owner of the ill-fated Princess of the Stars which capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon at the height of typhoon Frank on June 21.
As of Sunday, Suazo said they no longer had to finish inspecting all Sulpicio vessels to resume the audit of all vessels nationwide.
In fact, because of complaints of deficiencies of vessels owned by Rolly Shipping Lines, a small inter-island shipping company based in Cebu, he already sent a team here to audit RSL ferries.
He explained that the conduct of audit was not to find fault but to correct lapses.
He said the audit would have to be done in phases since it would take two to four days to audit one vessel.
If deficiencies were to be found, then Marina would have to ground the vessel, Suazo said.
Suazo said there were instances that shipping companies that failed to comply with the safety standards in their operation would ask the help of influential padrinos or sponsors but he claimed this did not sway the Marina from requiring the shipping companies to correct their deficiencies.
An audit goes beyond the mere inspection of the hardware or the ship's equipment and looks into the entire system of the vessel, including its preparedness plan in emergency situations, according to Suazo.
Meanwhile, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal reiterated his stand not to let the government take over Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI).
He instead suggested that the firm's passenger and cargo shipping facilities and services be improved.
Vidal’s reaction came after calls for the government to take over SLI after the Princess of the Stars tragedy was brought up.
“I am not in favor that the government will take over,” Vidal told reporters on Saturday afternoon. “Because in the first place, with due respect to our government, it is not prepared to take over (the shipping company).”
The Cardinal said the Cebu-based shipping company should be allowed to resume operations because this would affect the local economy.
He said SLI's business covers 40 percent of the country's shipping industry and that “the economy will be affected especially in the Visayas and Mindanao.”
“I would advise that the government should help Sulpicio to make reforms of their way of administering, managing and also see to it that the safety of passengers would be the top priority,” he said.
Vidal also said he had sent instructions to the different parishes in the archdiocese to collect funds for typhoon Frank victims and the relatives of the passengers and crew members of the capsized MV Princess of the Stars.
“Aside from the collections we have from the parishes, we have also offered our offices as drop in centers of all the help that can be sent to all the affected areas,” he said.
The 77-year-old prelate also said he empathized with the victims of the disasters and had been praying for them.
“I am one with them, I pray for them especially for those who lost their life. May the Lord will accept them in the other life,” he said.
He asked for their patience in seeking justice for losing their loved ones.
“For the family who lost, let us see if there is something that can be done,” he said.
Meanwhile, they should pray and they should be patient about this thing,” said Vidal.
