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Video: Philippines Ro-Ro Ferry Grounds with 223 Passengers Aboard 

ferry aground in Philippines
Ferry went aground overnight traveling inter-island with 223 passengers (PCG)

Published Aug 9, 2022 1:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Philippines Coast Guard is reporting that all the passengers and crew are uninjured after a ro-ro passenger ferry operating inter-island grounded overnight in the southeast Philippines. The Coast Guard assisted by the Bureau of Customs is arranging for the passengers to be evacuated from the vessel while the shipping company, Cokaliong Shipping Lines, is sending another one of its ro-ros to transport the passengers to their destination.

The 2,726 gross ton Filipinas Cebu departed from Iloilo in the Philippines Monday evening shortly after 7 pm for an overnight trip to Cebu. She was carrying 223 passengers as well as a crew of 38. The vessel was navigating the inter-island straits and was near the municipality of Concepcion on the east side of Iloilo Island when she grounded. 

The Coast Guard said that it received the first report of the ground around midnight on August 9 and dispatched several vessels to survey the scene. The first reached the grounded ro-ro around 4:00 a.m. with a second vessel arriving alongside around 9:30 a.m. Fast boasts were also deployed and the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Unit was monitoring for oil leaks. They report that so far no traces of oil have been found.

 

 

The vessel was built in Japan in 1993 and acquired for service in the Philippines in 2007. She is 253 feet long and part of a fleet of eight inter-island ro-ro operated by the shipping company. Another one of their vessels, the Nasipit, was dispatched and expected to reach the ground site in the afternoon. Passengers will be transferred to the ferry to complete their trip.

Plans are being made to refloat the vessel. The marine investigation unit is also searching for the cause of the grounding.