2 more bodies recovered from M/V Catalyn B wreckage

Divers from the Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday recovered two more bodies from the sunken wreckage of MV Catalyn B, a GMA Flash Report said. The recovery of the bodies - a male and a female - reduced to 10 the number of victims still unaccounted for. Earlier, Coast Guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said the search, rescue, and retrieval operations for Catalyn B passengers should be finished this week. Wednesday’s recovery coincided with the Maritime Industry Authority’s (Marina) preliminary hearing on the December 24 collision between the wooden-hulled Catalyn B and the steel-hulled fishing boat Anatalia off Limbones Island in Cavite province. MV Catalyn B eventually sank after the incident. Present at the Marina inquiry proceedings were representatives from San Nicolas Shipping Lines, M/V Catalyn B’s owner, and the victims’ relatives.

During the hearing, San Nicolas representatives faulted FV Anatalia’s crew for the collision. They also asked that their shipping line’s franchise should not be suspended, and that the firm’s fleet should be allowed to transport cargo so they would earn money to pay for the victims’ insurance claims. But the report quoted the victims’ relatives as saying that San Nicolas’ franchise should remain suspended. In an exclusive interview last Tuesday, Catalyn B captain Tony Faminia told GMA News' that before the accident, he sent a message to FV Anatalia asking it to make a right turn to thwart a possible accident. "Tinatawagan ko sila, (I kept sending them a message, saying, meeting vessel port to port)," Faminia said, adding that even before the other vessel could send its reply, he already changed course. - Sophia Dedace/LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV