A month has passed since the cargo ship M/V Ever Transport III ran aground off the coast of Barangay Calindagan here last December 17 but it seems no effort has been made to salvage it until today.
Despite reassurances from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), public concern has surfaced anew over the possible effects on the marine environment and potential risks to mariners and the public with the vessel still not being retrieved from its current location.
The Steel Ray Salvaging Services has won the bid over another contender, the Uni-Orient Pearl Ventures, Inc., to salvage the grounded cargo ship, but its application for a permit from the PCG national headquarters has yet to be approved, Lt. Commander Agapito Bibat, chief of the PCG station in Dumaguete disclosed Wednesday.
According to Lt. Commander Bibat, the application for a permit to salvage is now sitting at the desk of the PCG Commandant at their central office for signature. Without such permit, the Steel Ray Salvaging Services cannot commence its operations to refloat and tow the M/V Ever Transport III, a cargo ship with a gross tonnage of 494.87 owned by Kheri Lines, Inc. based in Zamboanga City.
The Ever Transport III, which listed on its port side and with almost half of the ship submerged in water at high tide, has reportedly not shown signs of being dislodged from its original position since it ran aground last month due to tropical storm Sendong, as based on GPS plotting, said Bibat.
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