SuperFerry 14 fire claims 2 casualties

0
486

FIRE on board the SuperFerry 14, which broke out at 12:50 am last Friday, killed two passengers and injured countless others. The fire occurred while the ship was in the vicinity of El Fraille island near Corregidor.

The vessel, owned by the Aboitiz Transport Group (formerly WG&A), left the Port of Manila on schedule at 11 pm with 702 passengers and 155 crew. It was bound for Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro. As of 11:30 am Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard has accounted for a total of 633 rescued passengers. Also accounted for were 41 technical crew, and 114 hotel crew. Most of the passengers and crew jumped ship or fell overboard when the fire began to spread. They were picked up by at least eight responding Coast Guard and Navy ships as well as commercial vessels in the area. SuperFerry 19 will be fielded to service the routes of SF14 by March 4.

Meanwhile, two administration senators called for a review of maritime laws in the wake of the SuperFerry 14 mishap. Re-electionist Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon said sea accidents would continue to occur unless overlapping authorities and responsibilities of government regulatory agencies were ironed out. Sen. Manuel B. Villar Jr., meanwhile, noted that “there is no mandatory reporting or marine casualties to determine the loss of lives and properties resulting from such accidents, which would be the basis of the victims in their claim for damages.”