THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has suspended the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate (PSSC) of MV Asia Philippines, a roll-on roll-off (RoRo) vessel that caught fire one nautical mile southwest of Batangas Port on August 26, Friday.
The vessel was en route to Batangas Port from Oriental Mindoro when it radioed the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) of Coast Guard Station Batangas around 6 p.m., informing them of a fire incident.
MV Asia Philippines was declared fire out at around 10 p.m.
All 47 passengers and 38 crew were accounted for while the 16 rolling cargoes aboard the vessel were also undamaged.
According to Starlite Ferries Inc., operator of MV Asia Philippines, 16,000 liters of automotive diesel oil were stored in the vessel's fuel tank. The fuel remained intact even after the fire and no traces of oil spill or oil sheens were found by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) within the vicinity waters of the ship.
The PCG, however, reported that 80 percent of the second deck was damaged and 90 percent of the third deck was damaged by fire. The vessel also listed 10 degrees to Port (left side of the ship).
With the damage sustained during the fire, Marina suspended the safety certificate of MV Asia Philippines on Friday.
"Said vessel shall be subjected to a thorough safety inspection by Marina Inspector/Surveyor to determine her seaworthiness condition before lifting of the suspension, if warranted," engineer Emmanuel Carpio, regional director of Marina Region 4 (Calabarzon), said.
MV Asia Philippines is currently at the Bauan Anchorage in Batangas.