LEAKING lubrication oil caused the fire that struck the Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz on Thursday night in India where it, along with a sister ship, was on a mission to fetch 200,000 face masks needed in the fight against the COVID-19.
Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo on Sunday said an internal investigation is being conducted by the Navy to prevent a repeat of the incident.
“It was just a leakage of lube oil, there was a leakage of lube oil and it hit a hot surface, causing the fire. That’s the reason,” Bacordo said, citing the results of initial investigation.
“Lube oil leaked, it went to the hot pursuit of the main engine, thus the fire,” he added.
Bacordo said Navy personnel on board “fixed” the ship before it departed the Port of Cochin in India.
Asked Navy personnel will be meted sanctions, he said: “It’s (investigation) internal for now. They (officers of BRP Ramon Alcaraz) will first conduct their investigation and submit to us (the result).
“Once the report reached us in Manila, we will have a third party investigation. That’s part of the SOP (standard operating procedure) in the military. That’s not to find fault, it’s meant to ensure that this mistake will not be repeated,” he said.
The fire broke out five hours after the ship left the Indian port, causing injuries to two sailors and damage to the main engine. The ship managed to return to the Port of Cochin on its own power.
Injured were Fireman Second Class Engineman Alvin Aldecoa, who sustained superficial burns; and Fireman Second Class Machinery Repairman Joemari Bag-o, who suffered second degree burns.
Bacordo said Bag-o’s burns “is in the upper extremities, his back and part of his face so about 40 percent of his body was burned and he is being taken cared of” at a naval hospital in Cochin, India.
BRP Ramon Alcaraz and BRP Davao del Sur arrived in Cochin on Wednesday to pick up 200,000 of one million face masks donated by a Filipino doctor. The two ships came from Oman where they’ve been stationed since February to help repatriate overseas Filipinos affected by the US-Iraq tension.
“She will undergo a 21-day repair to ensure that on her voyage back to Manila, she will be 100 percent seaworthy. After the 10-minute fire, BRP Ramon Alcaraz was able to sail back to Cochin port on her own power. We are just ensuring that she will be 100 percent on her way back to Metro Manila,” Bacordo said.
Once the repair and the necessary endurance tests are completed in 21 days, Bacordo said BRP Ramon Alcaraz will sail to Manila with 800,000 face masks
Bacordo said the 200,000 face masks were all loaded into BRP Davao del Sur, along with 15 Filipino tourists and three Filipino workers stranded in India due to the pandemic.
Bacordo said BRP Davao del Sur continued with its voyage to Manila with the face masks and the stranded Filipinos. He said the ship is expected to arrive in Manila on May 23.
