300 passengers stranded off Cebu coast

Some 300 passengers were stranded off the coast of Cebu province before dawn Thursday after a Cebu-bound ship encountered engine trouble. Radio dzMM reported that the George and Peter Liner-owned M/V Juris left Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte around 7 p.m. on Wednesday for an 11-hour trip to Cebu City. However, seven hours into the trip, the ship's engine pistol malfunctioned causing the seacraft to stall off the coast of Cebu's Dalaguete and Oslob towns around 2 a.m. The report quoted port engineers of the George and Peter Lines as saying that the engine is still undergoing repair as of this posting. The vessel was expected to reach its destination, Pier 2 in Cebu City, eight hours later than scheduled or at about 2 p.m. Dalaguete and Oslob are second and fourth class municipalities ,respectively, located in the southern portion of the island province of Cebu. Dalaguete has a population of 57,331 people in 10,873 households while Oslob has 22,472 people living in 4,607 households. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV