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Sulpicio probe draws attention to ballast
Marcus Hand, Singapore - Friday 4 July 2008
The Princess of the Stars capsized in shallow waters in a typhoon.
A member of the Board of Maritime Inquiry Commodore Amado Romillo told the inquiry that two of the vessel’s four ballast tanks were empty when it set sail making the vessel unstable and causing it to capsize in heavy seas.
The 23,824 gt ferry capsized in shallow waters in a typhoon leaving over 800 passengers and crew either dead or missing.
“It’s very obvious the ship sailed without the proper quantity of ballast,” he told inquiry.
Benjamin Eugenio, the port captain for shipowner Sulpicio Lines in Manila, said some ballast tanks had to be emptied so as to allow the vessel to accommodate cargo. The ferry was carrying 200 cargo containers at the time of the sinking.
However Commodore Romillo contested that the ballast tanks should have remain full regardless of the amount of cargo onboard to ensure the stability of the vessel.
“If they discharge ballast in place of cargo, you change the center of gravity... Then you can’t consider the vessel stable. Thereby, you are risking the lives of passengers,” he said.
The high centre of gravity of the cargo could have caused the ship to list.
A Master Mariner said that ballast could have been a contributory factor in what he believed was a combination of factors that likely led to the tragedy.
Other factors could have been waves creating a broaching effect in shallow water, possible cargo shift and the effect of high winds.
Sulpicio Line’s lawyer Arthur Lim expressed concern that theories such as the vessel having inadequate balance could help push public opinion in the Philippines in favour of the company being taken over by the government.
There had been a proposal made by the Presidential palace that the ferry company be taken over by the government, but this has been rejected by lawmakers. “I don’t think that the government’s takeover of Sulpicio will improve our record on maritime safety. Government has no business getting into private business,” said Senate Speaker Prospero Nograles, in a statement.
While Sulpicio Lines has had a number of major casualties resulting in large loss of life as one of the Philippines largest domestic shipping companies, closing it down would cause a major supply crunch in the domestic transport sector.
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