Marina to probe ship’s cancelled Surigao trip
Passengers disembark from the MV Lady of Love of Medallion Transport Inc., which cancelled its trip to Surigao the other night, after its pressure gauge of the fresh water pump, which supplies the cooling system to the main engine, malfunctioned. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO.
CEBU, Philippines - The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)-7 will verify within the week as to what caused the cancellation of the trip of MV Lady of Love of Medallion Transport Inc. from Cebu City to Surigao the other night.
Marina-7 Regional Director Jose Venancio Vero, Jr. said that he will have it verified by the agency's engineers to determine the cause of the trip cancellation.
SN2 Francis Garcia, of the Coast Guard Station (CGS) Cebu-Operation Branch, said that the vessel, which had 193 passengers on board, failed to sail, as the pressure gauge of the fresh water pump was not in normal condition.
The fresh water pump is the one supplying the cooling system to the main engine.
Garcia said that CGS personnel conducted an inquiry and asked the ship's chief engineer to explain.
"The engineering decided to replace the impeller of the water pump but still its scheduled departure was cancelled for (the) safety of passengers and crew," Garcia said, based on their report.
Garcia added the ship’s management refunded the tickets of all the passengers after it cancelled the trip.
A source, who asked not to be named, said that the vessel was supposed to leave Cebu port at 8 p.m. but the management decided to cancel the trip around 11 p.m.
Last March 13, Marina-13 Regional Director Emmanuel "Bobby" Carpio issued a suspension of the vessel’s Passenger’s Ship Safety Certificate after one of the vessel's four engines was damaged on its way to Surigao from Cebu City.
Carpio, however, lifted the suspension after the defect was corrected the following day. —/GAN (FREEMAN)
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