A PASSENGER was injured when a barge and a passenger vessel collided off Batangas yesterday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.
PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan has ordered a probe on the mishap involving the barge Krizza Rica and passenger vessel MV Fastcat M19.
The PCG said the barge, with 17 crew members, was loaded with 300 sacks of cement when the incident occurred around 1:45 a.m. some two nautical miles southeast of Barangay Agapito in Isla Verde.
The barge, which was being towed by the motor tug Migi, was on its way to Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique while the MV Fastcat M19, with 47 crew members and 41 passengers, was on its way to the Calapan Port in Oriental Mindoro from the Batangas Port.
“Due to the collision, MV Fastcat M19 incurred damage on the third deck passenger deck starboard quarter (right rear corner), while barge Krizza Rica acquired scratches on its port bow (front left side),” the PCG said.
PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said one of the passengers of MV Fastcat M19 sustained lacerations in the upper right eye and upper right lip and minor bruises.
The injured passenger was identified by the PCG only as a 26-year-old male resident of Santa Fe, Romblon.
The barge was advised to anchor at the Calapan Anchorage Area for further investigation.
The passenger vessel “safely docked” at the Calapan Port where all the passengers disembarked safely.
The injured passenger was brought to the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Hospital for further medical attention.
The PCG said the Coast Guard Sub-Station Calapan and Maritime Safety Services Unit-Southern Tagalog “conducted an initial inquiry and inspected the damages incurred by the concerned vessels.
