Vietnamese ship runs aground off Legazpi City By Marlon A. Loterte Monday 1st of July 2013 TweetFacebookYahooEmailShareThis LEGAZPI CITY, July 1 (PIA) -- A Vietnamese vessel ran aground off the shores of Barangay San Roque in this city in the wake of the strong winds and big swells brought about by tropical storm "Gorio" over the weekend. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station here said on Sunday that the ship, M/V Minh Tuan 68 was originally anchored off Legazpi Port when the extreme weather pushed it to the shallow part off the shores of the village nearby the port area. PCG has warned residents not to get near the vessel due to the risk posed by the vessel. Bernardo Rafael Alejandro,Office of Civil Defense(OCD) Bicol regional director on Sunday said the incident took place at about 3:00 p.m. Saturday, when the vessel previously anchored at about a hundred meters from the Legazpi City port was swept by strong waves towards the nearest coastal village. Alejandro said the vessel drifted towards the shore because the vessel’s crewmen could not start the engine as its fuel tank was empty. The cargo vessel, which is operated and owned by Ming Truong Shipping Lines, brought cargo in this city last September 2. The Bureau of Customs and the PCG have impounded the vessel since September last year after it was involved in transporting 94,000 bags of smuggled rice from Vietnam. The ship is also facing charges from the PCG for violation of maritime environmental regulations. Mayor-elect Noel Rosal said the city government is looking for a tug boat that will tow the cargo vessel back to the deep portion of the Albay Gulf. (MAL/SAA-PIA5/Albay) pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=771372663315
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:09:00 +0000