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ABOARD THE BRP PAMPANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Philippine divers Tuesday entered the hull of a passenger ferry which capsized with hundreds on board, as officials held out slim hopes of finding survivors.
The navy and coast guard frogmen breached the ferry, which went down in a typhoon four days ago carrying 862 people, at first light but found little, according to Commodore Cecil Chen who is leading the recovery effort.
An AFP reporter onboard this coast guard vessel at the scene said the divers emerged with the corpse of a woman. Chen said he expects they will see some more bodies as the search continues.
"We believe there may be some people trapped there and that is the objective of the diving operations," said coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo in Manila.
The number of survivors rose overnight from 36 to 43, the coast guard said, without giving details. Twelve bodies were found floating in the sea.
Divers had been waiting for stormy seas whipped up by Typhoon Fengshen to subside before entering the 23,824-tonne ferry that sank off the central island of Sibuyan on Saturday.
Survivors have reported only about 100 people managed to jump overboard as the vessel suddenly lurched and capsized in a matter of minutes. Just the tip of the bow remains above water.
Eight coast guard and navy boats are continuing to comb waters nearby as chances recede of finding anyone alive.
There have been reports from local officials of dozens of survivors being found in nearby islands but Balilo said the accounts had not been confirmed.
He also said that another ship, the transport vessel Lake Paoay, had gone down in the same area on Saturday, leaving three dead and 17 missing although this was only discovered this week.
Countless people in this impoverished nation rely on relatively inexpensive ferries to get around the country's 7,100 islands.
The ferry's operator, Sulpicio Lines, has had at least three other major accidents since 1987, when its Dona Paz vessel collided with an oil tanker.
Around 4,000 people were killed, the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history.
The government said it had suspended the company's operations until further notice, while anti-corruption campaigners are planning a class action lawsuit.
Much of the Philippines is reeling from the weekend typhoon strike which left about 600 people dead or missing in floods, landslides and boat accidents, apart from the ferry disaster victims.
"You realize you just became a target for the internet version of the scuba police who will descry your diving practices, your gear, and your personal life. They will proceed to point out your diving faults and your faults as a person." Adurso
Thanks for the updates Dandy (been trying to filter through accurate reports myself - not easily I might add).
It's been a long time for them now though! I've not had much 'experience' with ship tradgedies, but anyone know how long you can survive in a room of air, because a scuba tank has a fair amount in it but only gives you an hour or two, so can't be so much more - especially if the pressure shrunk any air pockets!
Just read a report saying "The ship was resting upside down with the tip of its bow above water and its stern resting on the bottom of the sea, easily visible from shore." - It looks a pretty big ship, so depending on the angle could be deep water, but I'd like to know the depth there if anyone knows?
I'm interested in rescue ops (never done it), but just trying to imagine how on earth you go about rescuing people from something like that. They were talking about cutting their way in, but which ever way you go about it, you're gonna let water into a compartment, and it's then a race of air time/ having enough air sources to give out, and pressure affecting any surviors you meet in there - unless you can seal and purge as you go?
The coast guard usually have big ships, but even so, how difficult would a refloat be logistically? There would be a weakening in the hull of course, but don't think it should affect integrity too much as air bags would just support it.
What qualifications would you need to be on a rescue response team? I'm no paramedic by far, neither can I weld (though welding can be learnt easily), but going in and extracting someone - I'd be up for that. As for handling the sights down there, I guess I can't answer that till the time came.
__________________
I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it.
Current 4:42am Wednesday (PHT) - Time in Philippines
BlueReef, about the only question I might address would be that if they cut thru the hull below the water line inside, then there would not be an air escape at that cut. There are other concerns. This article paints a morbid picture...
Divers on a rubber boat wait beside the capsized ferry MV Princess of the Stars, off Sibuyan island. Photograph: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters
Quote:
Naval divers in the Philippines found bodies but no survivors today when they finally managed to enter the upturned hulk of the ferry that sank in a typhoon.
Resucers who swam inside the wreck of the MV Princess of the Stars found the bodies of passengers wearing life jackets, trapped in air pockets almost 72 hours after the ship went down.
The scene inside the 23,824-tonne ferry was so dark that the navy said it was impossible to say how many bodies were there. The corpses had turned white after so long in the water.
The fear is that with only 33 survivors so far and about 30 bodies discovered floating in the sea near the island of Masbate, the ship has become a mass grave for the rest of the 863 people who were on board.
Two bloated corpses - one thought to be a crewman who was clutching a radio - were cut free from a tangle of cables and brought to the surface.
Rescuers said there was virtually no hope of finding anyone alive as even those who had found pockets would probably have suffocated when the air ran out.
"It will be a miracle if we find survivors," said a Philippines coastguard official.
The effort has now switched to recovering the bodies from inside the hull, though it remains a difficult and dangerous operation for the 20 divers who had smashed windows to gain access to the ship's bowels.
An oil slick has already formed around the ferry whose bows are visible above the water on a sandbank several miles off the island of Sibuyan, where villagers have gathered on the shore to watch.
Divers could decide to cut into the hull to bring out the bodies, but this might cause the estimated 100,000 litres of heavy "bunker" fuel oil to leak. Another option would be to weight the corpses to remove them from below.
As the operation continued, helicopters from a UN naval ship discovered a further nine bodies floating in the sea as it searched for survivors in life rafts.
The ferry's owner, Sulpicio Lines, offered to fly a relative from each bereaved family to Cebu in an effort to identify the bodies of those who perished in Typhoon Fengshen.
Even for those who found trapped air right away, looks like too much time has passed, too little O2, possibly contaminates in the air. None of the other articles seem to have any new, good news today. Looks like a massive, sad tragedy.
"You realize you just became a target for the internet version of the scuba police who will descry your diving practices, your gear, and your personal life. They will proceed to point out your diving faults and your faults as a person." Adurso
BlueReef, about the only question I might address would be that if they cut thru the hull below the water line inside, then there would not be an air escape at that cut. There are other concerns. This article paints a morbid picture...
Again, my knowledge of ferries is minimal. My mind is just mostly going on documentaries of designs of warships etc, but then they are designed more for taking 'hits'. Likewise some tankers have double hulls, and the storage of fuel/cargo etc is compartmentalised into many smaller holding tanks - of course with ferries they don't so much have this issue. But if there was a rupture of a fuel tank it might leak into this cavity and pool at the lowest point. Also warship's doors can lock airtight, but I believe passenger ferries too have sections that lock off? (and I don't think this info just comes from the film Titanic!).
Photos show the angle as not very steep indeed, so doesn't look to be that deep (but then it IS a big boat!)
Also the following local news report maybe interesting to some HERE. From this, it does look like the ship is resting on the bottom and not actually that far off shore.
Here's an interesting quote from one survivor (seemingly being one good thing to come out of Hollywood):-
Quote:
He then recalled holding on to the fire hose and waiting for the ship to sink first before jumping into the water.
“I learned that from the (movie) Titanic,” Garbo said. “When the passengers in the film started jumping while the ship was still tilted to its side, many hit the railings and died.”
Upon reaching the water, Garbo joined 11 of his fellow seamen on a life boat. With them were 18 other passengers.
However, indeed, it's a great shame and I think chances are now very slim of finding survivors.
__________________
I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials suspended the retrieval Friday of hundreds of bodies believed trapped inside a sunken ferry due to fears divers may be exposed to toxic chemicals in the cargo hold.
Vice President Noli de Castro told reporters that 22,000 pounds of the pesticide endosulfan intended for pineapple plantations of Del Monte Philippines went down with the ferry when it capsized in a typhoon last Saturday in the central Philippines.
"Because this pesticide is dangerous, we have temporarily aborted the retrieval operations at the ship," he said.
More than 100 divers, including eight U.S. servicemen, have joined the search.
The pesticide does not dissolve easily in water and could be lethal to humans, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said. He warned against eating fish caught in the area until tests show they have not been contaminated.
MANILA, Philippines: Commercial divers headed to a sunken Philippine ferry Saturday to remove a toxic cargo before authorities can resume retrieving hundreds of bodies believed trapped inside the ship.
Transportation Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista said the divers will first determine whether the wreck of the ferry, which capsized in a typhoon a week ago with more than 850 people on board, is stable before they cut a hole in the hull. That would allow them to pull out a 40-foot (12-meter) steel container with 22,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms) of the pesticide endosulfan.
The government learned about the cargo only after it was informed by Del Monte Philippines, which was to use it on its pineapple plantations in the south. Officials halted the retrieval operations Friday fearing for the safety of 103 divers, including eight U.S. servicemen.
continued...
Well great. The ferry company had 11 tons of pesticide on a passenger ferry and didn't bother to tell the rescue force.
SAN FERNANDO, Philippines (AFP) — The owner of a sunken Philippine ferry is unwilling to see its vessel refloated because it would not be able to claim full damages from insurers, a maritime official said on Saturday.
The senior official said that the submerged Princess of the Stars, which contains hundreds of dead bodies inside, could easily be refloated but the shipping line and authorities were stalling.
The ferry, which sank off the central island of Sibuyan with 850 people aboard in a typhoon a week ago, has an intact hull with air pockets that could be used to float it once more and put it the right side up, the official said.
However, declining to be named, he said the owners, Sulpicio Lines, and the coast guard "are not pursuing that tact because they are waiting apparently for the insurers to conduct their own investigation."
"You realize you just became a target for the internet version of the scuba police who will descry your diving practices, your gear, and your personal life. They will proceed to point out your diving faults and your faults as a person." Adurso
Great - good to know that once again money has been put first over people's lives!! (damn lawyers)
now then, if it had been refloated the first night/day as I suggested I wonder if there may have been more alive today? I don't know, but I hope there will be a report done to find out if any 'chambers' had significant air inside and for how long it stayed there.
as for the fertiliser - something makes me wonder if there's actually something more important down there instead of fertiliser. If not then it looks like there another few reefs gone from our world.
__________________
I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it.
It would be impossible to refloat (do you actually mean "upright") the ship within the first day/night even if the sinking had taken place in shallow waters off the coast of the US or Great Britain. A salvage operation of this size will take a long time to plan even before they start the actual work.
Yeah, and I would think they'd want to remove possible survivors before trying to refloat even in other conditions. I just thot it was interesting that the owners are avoiding reasonable efforts; would rather leave it there and cash the check.
The chemical seems to be a pesticide known as endosulfan, not fertilizer. No one will claim responsibility on placing it on a passenger ferry in violation of safety regs.
"You realize you just became a target for the internet version of the scuba police who will descry your diving practices, your gear, and your personal life. They will proceed to point out your diving faults and your faults as a person." Adurso
Most of the ships owned by the Sulpicio Lines are listed as passenger/cargo vessels. Not living in the Philippines I would hazard to guess whether putting the pesticide on this vessel was a violation of their safety regs. I haven't read every post and link on this subject but from what I'm aware of it isn't that unusual to for hazardous materials to included as cargo on oceangoing vessels. It was only 12 years ago that we in the US had ValuJet Flight 592 where there was a lot of hazardous material on a passenger plane. In no way am I trying to make excuses for the operator of this vessel. They should never have attempted to maintain their schedule with the weather info they had available.
I didn't guess. That was in the first article linked on the pesticide...
Quote:
The government learned about the pesticide only after Del Monte informed the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority about it, she said.
Bautista said ferry owner Sulpicio Lines violated maritime rules that prohibit carrying toxic or hazardous substances in passenger ships.
De Castro said the government is considering filing charges against Sulpicio.
in the other one...
Quote:
The chemical is used to kill mites in pineapples but can be lethal to humans. Bautista said ferry owner Sulpicio Lines violated maritime rules that prohibit carrying toxic or hazardous materials on passenger vessels.
Del Monte didn't receive their pesticide, ran tracing, learned from another source, then warned the government. There is additional info in other articles if you want to read some of them.
"You realize you just became a target for the internet version of the scuba police who will descry your diving practices, your gear, and your personal life. They will proceed to point out your diving faults and your faults as a person." Adurso
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