Manila: A politician has called for Congress to investigate the August 16 collision off Cebu that saw the St Thomas Aquino sink with the loss of more than 100 lives. Gus Tambunting urged fellow politicians to crack down on the nation’s maritime operators as there has been a “grisly history of tragedies at sea”.

“The almost yearly occurrence of accidents at sea involving inter-island shipping companies that operate ferries of various sizes and displacement, which have caused the loss of thousands of lives, as well as severe and long lasting environmental devastation due to the effects of oil spills, as well as the discharge of other noxious chemicals into our seas calls into question the existing measures to regulate this industry in general and the shipping companies in particular,” Tambunting said in his resolution.

“Despite this series of sea tragedies and the chain of investigations by the Maritime Industry Authority or MARINA as well as the Board of Marine Inquiry, it would appear that these incidents, which at first blush, appear to be preventable, continue to occur,” he added.

Meanwhile, local authorities on Tuesday looked at how the sunken ferry might be salvaged without more oil spilling.
The St Thomas Aquinas ferry may be either refloated, cut up for salvage or dragged into deeper water away from the busy shipping channel off the central island of Cebu, said provincial civil defence chief Neil Sanchez. 

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