PCG: Bad weather caused sinking of 3 vessels

MANILA, Philippines —  Bad weather caused the sinking of the motor tankers Terra Nova and Jason Bradley and motor vessel Mirola 1 in Bataan last month, according to initial information released by the Marine Casualty Investigation (MCI) Team.

“The MCI is the fact-finding committee formed by the Philippine Coast Guard to know the cause for the sinking of the ships. Now what we are seeing is that bad weather affected the vessels… At those times, it was considered to be very bad weather,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Bataan station commander, Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina, said yesterday at a Zoom press conference.

The MCI, which started its investigation a week ago, is composed of officers from the PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority.

Encina explained that MTKR Jason Bradley was reportedly anchored in Bataan when Typhoon Carina hit on July 24 and caused the tanker to sink on July 26.

The MTKR Terra Nova, on the other hand was allowed by the Bataan Coast Guard to travel after it underwent pre-departure inspection and as there was no tropical cyclone warning signal raised at the time.

The tanker was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil when it submerged at around 3 a.m. of July 25.

Meanwhile, MV Mirola 1 reportedly “escaped” from Navotas and sailed to Bataan without first seeking clearance from the PCG, and ended up running aground in Sitio Quiapo, Barangay Biaan, Mariveles on July 23. – Bella Cariaso