SHIP AGROUND. MV Maria Helena, a roll-on roll-off/passenger vessel, ran aground in waters off Banton Island in Romblon on Sunday (July 16, 2023). The Maritime Industry Authority has since suspended the safety certificate of the ship, preventing its return to operation prior to a safety inspection. (Photo courtesy of PCG)
MANILA – The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has suspended the passenger ship safety (PSS) certificate of MV Maria Helena, the ship that ran aground off the waters of Banton Island in Romblon.
In a letter sent to Montenegro Shipping Lines, Inc., the operator of the grounded MV Maria Helena, MARINA said the suspension was handed down after the ship was involved in “maritime casualties and incidents such as, but not limited to, fire, engine dearrangement, grounding, collision, allision, and hitting hard objects.”
“In view thereof, the PSS of MV Maria Helena is hereby suspended until further notice from this Authority,” the letter read.
The suspension, it said, may be lifted following a thorough safety inspection by a MARINA inspector or surveyor to determine the ship’s seaworthiness.
On Sunday, 93 passengers and 36 crew were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and local passenger boats from MV Maria Helena after it ran aground about 100 meters off the nearest shoreline of Barangay Nasunugan in Banton.
When the incident occurred, the vessel was bound for San Agustin Port in Tablas, Romblon from Lucena Port in Lucena City, Quezon.
To date, the PCG has placed an oil spill boom around the grounded ship to control possible oil spill after the vessel started listing 10 degrees to portside due to an imbalance of cargoes and seawater.
It added that a wheel exploded in one of the rolling cargoes inside the vessel, causing the imbalance. (PNA)
