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AFTER
earlier denying any intention to take over beleaguered
Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI), Malacañang said on Wednesday
a government takeover remains an option that would
depend largely on the findings of the Board of Marine
Inquiry (BMI) on the MV Princess of the Stars disaster
and the practicality of state-led shipping during
typhoon season.
This
developed even as a group of domestic shipping operators
warned of disruption of cargo and passenger movement if
the interim Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rule of “no
sailing when Storm Signal Number 1 is raised” is not
rescinded or amended, and worse, if it becomes
permanent.
The
Philippine Interisland Shipping Association (Pisa) said
it wants to strike a win-win solution with Coast Guard
since the interim rule has serious implications on the
viability of the business of its members.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in his weekly news
briefing, reported the new stance of President Arroyo of
not outrightly rejecting a takeover, and that Palace
officials have already informed Congress leaders about
such a possibility since it would require legislation.
The
shipping group said the workshop on Tuesday among
representatives of the Pisa, Coast Guard, Philippine
Ports Authority and Maritime Industry Authority on the
sailing ban was but a knee-jerk reaction to the sinking
of MV Princess of the Stars.
Pisa declined,
however, to give a copy of its proposed guidelines in
times of a storm before presenting it to the Marina at
its special board meeting on Friday.
According to Pisa estimates, if the PCG ruling is
maintained, a vessel’s sailing time will be
“significantly reduced by at least 60 days a year,”
given that there are about 16 to 20 typhoons that hit
the country every year, and each storm remains for about
three to five days.
The
interim rule had already taken effect on Friday, after
the agency was criticized for allowing Sulpicio’s MV
Princess of the Stars to set sail after Signal Number 1
had been hoisted.
The CG
said that allowing the ship to sail did not violate any
existing rule since the ship weighs about 23,824 gross
tons and is capable of sailing under those
circumstances, as stated in the rules at that time.
The
ship, according to initial investigation of the BMI,
collided head-on with the eye of the storm Frank. SLI
has sued the weather office for its “wrong forecast” and
alleged failure to notify them on time of the change in
the path of the storm.
Meanwhile, asked what conditions would warrant a
government takeover of SLI, Ermita said he believed it
would not only depend on the BMI findings but also on
“what measures have the company undertaken, considering
that it has already previous incidents of major sea
disasters and therefore, by now, they are expected to
have taken certain specific measures to prevent this
from happening.”
He added
that another “very important aspect considered by the
government on a takeover” is the fact that many other
typhoons are forecast to hit the country for the rest of
the year.
“We are
just being very practical. That was what the President
pointed out during the discussions. We have to be very
careful. It’s very easy to say takeover, and then later
on, there may be a typhoon and some ships sink. . . . We
have to be very careful about this,” added Ermita.
“We are
not saying that no measures will be taken against SLI.
Let us wait for the investigation of BMI. We would like
to know what is the culpability of SLI, [and] of
government agencies supervising maritime affairs like
the PCG and Marina. So let’s see if they have any
culpability.”
Ermita
also said the government is quietly looking into reports
that ship captain Florencio Marimon is still alive and
is allegedly under the care of SLI executives.
“Definitely, you can be sure that information as to the
fate of the captain
is being verified. We don’t have to announce to the whole world. You can
be very sure of that.” (With M. Gonzalez) |
