7 other passenger ships of Sulpicio Lines found defective

MANILA, Philippines - Seven other passenger vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc. have been found defective and must undergo rectification before they are allowed to sail again, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said Tuesday. Col. Primo Rivera, Marina deputy administrator for operations, said their audit team ordered Sulpicio Lines to comply first with its recommendation before their vessels are allowed to their respective voyages. Sulpicio Lines is the owner of MV Princess of the Stars, which capsized off Romblon province two weeks ago. The ship was carrying more than 800 passengers and crewmembers. Already inspected by Marina are the Princess of the South, Princess of the Earth, Cagayan Princess, which are all in Cebu; the Princess of Paradise in Cagayan; Palawan Princess in Baybay, Leyte; and the Princess of the Universe and Princess of Ocean, both dry-docked. "The recommendation of inspection audit is to check whether the technical aspect has already been addressed," he said without going into details on what types of deficiencies they have seen. Rivera admitted that the company has complete papers and its vessels are classed by the Bureau Veritas. Lawyer Arthur Lim, counsel of Sulpicio Lines, reiterated his client’s request to allow those vessels that have already been inspected to sail again, saying the company has a commitment to its clients "Our prayer is that investigation be done expeditiously because we have commitments and bookings," he said. Lim also said that the grounding of Sulpicio Lines' vessels should be based on a per vessel basis and not on fleet basis, adding that they are studying the possibility of filing a suit against Marina if it continues to ground the vessels that have already been inspected. Marina has yet to inspect other Sulpicio Lines vessels such as the Princess of the Carribean in Dumaguete; Filipina Princess and Cotabato Princess, both in Manila; Tacloban Princess in Dipolog; Cebu Princess in Tacloban; and Dipolog Princess in Cebu. Rivera said only the Marina administrator and the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) have the power to allow the grounded Sulpicio Lines vessels to sail again. At present, only the eight cargo vessels of Sulpicio Lines are being allowed to sail. The firm has 13 passenger vessels plying the Manila, Visayas, Mindanao routes. - GMANews.TV