2 SLI vessels can sail again
By Jhunnex Napallacan
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 11:16:00 08/07/2008
Two out of six passenger vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) have been allowed by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to sail again.
The order lifting the suspension on the MV Cotabato Princess and MV Princess of the Earth came after the ships passed a reaudit to check their seaworthiness.
The order did not specify if operations would be limited to the transport of cargo. This means both vessels could carry passengers too, said Col. Primo Rivera, Marina deputy administrator for operations.
The lifting was welcomed by businessmen who earlier complained that the grounding of SLI vessels seriously affected trading in Cebu and resulted in undelivered shipments from major cities in Mindanao.
Six other SLI ships remain grounded pendingreinspection
Having both ships back at sea also brought some relief from the series of job layoffs ordered by management for crew members of idle vessels.
Some families whose loved ones perished in the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars two months ago, however, said it was too soon to allow the two vessels of SLI to resume operations.
All SLI passenger vessels were grounded after MV Princess of Stars, the company's flagship vessel, sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon at the height of typhoon Frank on June 21.
While nine cargo vessels were allowed to continue operations to avoid hampering the transfer of goods in the country, the freeze on SLI passenger vessels, which also carried cargo, still hurt sea traffic, prompting business chambers in Cebu to complain.
SLI , the second biggest cargo carrier in the country, accounts for 40 percent of all cargo movement across the country.
Ma. Victoria Lim-Florido, SLI legal counsel, confirmed that the shipping firm received from Marina on Tuesday a copy of the order lifting the suspension on the MV Cotabato Princess and MV Princess of the Earth.
She said the two vessels were cleared by Marina for sailing and that company would announce later the schedules and routes.
Before the suspension, MV Princess of the Earth plied the Cebu-Butuan route daily.
Florido said the company would hire back workers who were earlier let go due to the suspension of operations.
Over 200 crewmen from various vessels were laid off when SLI ships were grounded, according to Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP). The employees union of SLI workers is affiliated with ALU-TUCP.
The lifting of the suspension of the two ships was approved by Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista in a directive and had the go signal of Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.
Last July 23, Mendoza told reporters in Cebu that President Macapagal-Arroyo agreed to lift the suspension order on SLI vessels provided these passed Marina audit. Arroyo also wanted the ships to carry only cargo, he said.
The recent Marina order, however, did not single out passenger or cargo functions.
“It was not specific in (Bautista's) directive so I just released the order without other limitations. There was no limitation to the order I signed last Saturday. I just signed an order without any condition; I just lifted the hold order,” Rivera said in a telephone interview.
He said the six other SLI passenger-cargo vessels passed the second audit after the shipping firm corrected earlier deficiencies found by inspections teams. However, the Marina board of directors, chaired by Mendoza, has not yet decided whether to clear them for sailing.
“We already gave recommendations to the board that the vessels complied with correction of all the deficiencies. It depends on the board if they will direct us to lift the grounding order,” he said.
Deficiencies varied from vessel to vessel. The audit covered only the “hardware” or the seaworthiness of the vessel, he explaied.
Marina still has to audit the “software” or the operations of the shipping company. This would take longer because inspection would cover maintenance, procurement system for spare parts and other aspects.
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