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The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) yesterday clarified that the two passenger ships of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) allowed to sail again will only carry cargo but not passengers.
?They can't carry passengers, only cargo,? said a text message from Task Force Princess of the Stars chief Elena Bautista, the Transport Department's undersecretary for maritime affairs.
Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Vicente Suazo, in a phone interview, supported Bautista's declaration, saying that the order lifting the suspension of SLI's MV Princess of the Earth and MV Cotabato Princess was limited to cargo only.
?The two vessels were only allowed to carry cargo to keep the movement of goods going. Remember, we have talked to other shipping companies which have assured us that they have new ships coming to serve any increase in cargo demand,? said Suazo.
?While we are awaiting those, and pending the results of the ongoing hearings involving Sulpicio Lines, we allowed two of their passenger ships to carry only cargo, so that cargo deliveries will not be hampered,? he said.
Suazo said the fate of SLI's passenger business has yet to be decided by the Marina board.
Bautista added that Marina deputy administrator for operations Col. Primo Rivera has denied saying the two ships may carry passengers. She said Rivera was misquoted.
Rivera could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Rivera earlier said that the order lifting the suspension on two SLI vessels did not specify if its operations would be limited to transport of cargoes.
Since the order did not set limitation, he said it meant that the two SLI vessels could carry passengers too, he said Rivera said he signed the order on Saturday upon the instruction of Transportation Undersecretary Bautista. The move had the go signal from Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.
Engineer Nelson Morales, SLI Safety and Quality Assurance manager, said he had not personally seen the written notice that the two vessels may be allowed to sail again.
Morales said that nine passenger vessels have been re-audited. Up next for re-inspection are four others which are dry-docked. Seven SLI cargo vessels, which were not covered by the grounding, are still in operation and one is dry-docked.
But SLI port captain Nestor Ponteres said the shipping firm decided to limit its operations to cargo while waiting for clear instructions from Marina.
The MV Princess of the Earth will serve the Cebu-Butuan-Cebu route and the MV Cotabato Princess, the Manila- Estancia, Iloilo- Zamboanga - Cotabato route.
Since the MV Cotabato Princess is based in Manila, only the MV Princess of the Earth will leave from the port of Cebu.
Glenn Cabañez, Marina-Central Visayas director, said he was puzzled why the order did not contain any specifics. As far as he knew, he said the two vessels should only carry cargoes and not passengers.
?Sa ngayon cargo lang muna. Nalilito kami diyan sa totoo lang. Di ko malaman kung bakit lumabas ang order na walang condition (For now, we'll limit it to cargoes. But we too are confused. We didn't know why the order did not set any condition),? Cabañez said.
Last July 23, Secretary Mendoza announced to reporters in Cebu that the suspension on SLI vessels would be lifted following the meeting between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and big shipping owners inside the Malacañang sa Sugbo.
But he said Arroyo only wanted the ships to carry only cargo to address the shortage of cargo vessels after the SLI ships were grounded.
Sulpicio Lines is the second biggest cargo carrier in the country and accounts for 40 percent of all cargo movement across the country.
Cabañez said the MV Princess of the Earth and the MV Cotabato Princess can sail after his office issued on Wednesday the safety certificate for the two vessels.
?On the basis of the inspection report, we issued the ship safety certificate. The engineers recommended for the issuance of the safety certificate,? he said.
The Cebu Coast Guard Station said SLI vessels would be thoroughly inspected before these would be allowed to leave the ports.
Coast Guard District Central Eastern Visayas head Commodore Edmond Tan said the Cebu Coast Guard will conduct inspection to ensure that all the cargoes are properly placed.
?It is our obligation to check all the vessels before allowing them to leave from the port,? Tan said.
Cebu Coast Guard chief Commander Elpidio Gunio said his office has not received any communications from the Marina about the two vessels.
Like Tan, he also assured that the cargoes will be carefully inspected before allowing the vessels to depart.
Business leaders in Cebu hail the lifting of the suspension orders on two vessels because Cebu needs more vessels to carry cargoes to several key areas in the country.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was also happy with the order, which meant the vessels passed the Marina reaudit.
Vidal told TV Patrol Cebu said that while the suspension on two vessels had been lifted, the people should not forget the June 21 sinking of MV Princess of the Stars that left hundreds of people dead.
He added he also hoped the SLI would learn from the tragedy and would not to allow the vessels to sail when overloaded or during heavy rains.
But those who lost their loved ones in the sea tragedy were disappointed with the order.
Elpedia Payawal said the government should even suspend the license of SLI after the vessels owned by the shipping firm had figured in several sea accidents.
Payawal's husband was among the more than 400 passengers and crew members who were declared missing and presumed dead.
Of the 825 passengers and crew of MV Princess of the Stars, 52 survived while 312 bodies had been recovered.
Payawal said she continued to hope that her husband was alive but was stranded on a nearby island and had lost his memory.
Liza Osabel, who lost her husband in the sinking, said that if the government was truly concerned about its constituents, it should not allow any SLI vessel to sail ?whether to ferry passengers or just cargo.
Allowing the SLI vessels to sail again was a sign of disrespect to the victims, especially those whose bodies were believed to be trapped inside the sunken vessel, said Benirando Ermat, whose brother was among the fatalities.
Payawal, Osabel and Ermat went to the Public Attorney?s Office (PAO) yesterday to signify their intention to file charges against the shipping firm.
Payawal and Osabel were in tears while asking government lawyer Banjo Luther Macion about the requirements needed in filing the case.
Osabel said losing her husband Eddie was painful. Eddie, a seaman, was supposed to start working on July 24. His body was among those found in Quezon.
?Bisan nakit-an na nako akong bana, di gihapon ko katuo nga wa na siya, mu-file ko?g kaso para sa akong mga anak, unsaon man nako pagbuhi sa akong mga anak nga akong bana ra may gisaligan (Even if I have found my husband's body, I still could not believe that he is gone. I will file the case for our children. How will I be able to support my children when I was dependent on my husband),? said Osabel.
Macion of PAO advised the relatives to bring documents that would prove their relationship with the victims.
They were also told to bring with them the victims' employment certificate because lost of income would be used in computing the amount for damages. /with reports from Reporter Marian Codilla, Correspondent Carine Asutilla and Inquirer
