Weather Grounds Ship off Philippines
No signs of oil spill were found from a grounded cargo ship in Siete Picados, Guimaras on February 4th, reports the Philippine Coast Guard.
MT King Andrew was loaded with 1,480.06 metric tons of cane molasses with 21 crew when it was drifted by strong winds and current southwest off the Light Station Siete Picados in Guimaras.
Upon receipt of information from the ship master, the personnel of Coast Guard Station (CGS) Iloilo, Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Dumangas and Marine Environmental Protection Unit-Western Visayas (MEPU-WV) immediately proceeded to the area to investigate the grounding incident.
The master stated that they have departed Lapuz Wharf in Iloilo around 11:00 p.m. on February 3 bound for Calaca, Batangas when they encountered unfavorable weather conditions.
Ocular inspection conducted by the team verified the vessel’s watertight integrity and found no ingress of salt water in the ship nor traces of oil sheen in the vicinity.
The Coast Guard Sub-Station Dumangas issued a Maritime Violation Receipt (MVR) to the ship captain for failure to give immediate and effective notice of the incident arising with the operation or maintenance of the vessel, in violation of MARINA Memorandum Circular 120 A-10.10.1.
The team advised the master to coordinate with the ship owner to hire a tug boat to pull their vessel out from grounding position during the highest tide and file marine protest regarding the incident.