Coast Guard verifying human error in Sarangani sea collision

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) investigators are looking at human error as the likely cause of the collision between two vessels off Sarangani province on Tuesday night. PCG commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag said on Thursday there was no sign of bad weather or mechanical problem when the accident happened. MV Bulk Carrier I and the Monrovian-registered container vessel MV HS Puccini Tuesday night. Liwag said it was unusual why the two vessels collided when the sea lanes were not congested. "Ayoko magbigay ng ano pero apparently nakikita natin hindi nasusunod ang tinatawag na rules of the road. Dapat magtatawagan sila saan dadaan. Baka may human error on both sides," he said in an interview on dzXL radio. "Maraming nagtataka, maluwag ang karagatan, bakit nagbungguan? May regulations, may radio," he said. At least two of the 23 crewmembers of the MV Bulk Carrier I, identified as Juanito Minoy and Edward Paller, were reported missing. The initial investigation showed that the MV HS Puccini skippered by Captain Marko Kralj was bound from Hong Kong to General Santos City. On the other hand, MV Bulk Carrier I skippered by Captain Pedrito Serencio was bound from General Santos City to Dumaguete City (Negros Oriental). The MV Bulk Carrier I was carrying 16,000 bags of rice at the time of the incident. - VVP, GMA News