Save our Filipinos from unsafe RoRos

If international governments are discouraging their nationals from using our inter-island fleets for local travel, should we just accept this sitting down?

It’s not that they do not have a legitimate reason to issue such advisories, because they really have. Not only does the Philippines hold the record for having one of the world’s worst maritime accidents, i.e., the M/V Princess of the Stars sinking in June of 2008 where over a thousand died and went missing, but it also is a country that suffers from multiple accidents in a year involving sea-faring vessels.

No wonder then that countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Canada have issued strongly worded travel advisories that single out our interisland ferries as unsafe for use. “Sea travel in the Philippines is hazardous,” according to one advisory.

They cite records of multiple accidents (“five major interisland ferryboat accidents in the last two years, one with significant loss of life”) due to overloading, inadequate maintenance, incomplete passenger manifests, and lack of necessary lifesaving equipment.

The continued existence of these unsafe sea-faring vessels, many of them roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ships that accommodate cars, jeepneys, buses, and even cargo trucks aside from commuting passengers, is something that we should be ashamed of.

Solving the problem

More importantly, we – Filipinos and the government – should be doing something to correct this malady.

How can our government not act to protect its people? If other governments are justified in issuing these advisories, should we just take this sitting down and not do anything? Are the lives of Filipinos more expendable than those from other countries?

In truth, if there is the will and commitment to solve this problem, a doable solution could be crafted that would be acceptable to the affected industry members, and beneficial to the millions of Filipinos who use ROROs for their personal and business travel needs.

Oil tanker sector paved the way

We’ve seen this happen to the domestic oil tanker sector, which in 2012 completed its fleet modernization program after the Maritime Industry Association issued a circular in 2007 mandating all oil tankers operating in Philippine waters to be double hulled.

Before the MARINA directive, oil tankers operating within Philippine territory that met with any accident were liable to damage the ecology and environment after their cargo of spilled oil would be released into the waters, thereby affecting sea life and nearby shorelines.

The single hulls made these vessels extremely vulnerable to oil spills. Containing the spilled oil, on the other hand, was always a difficult challenge given the strong currents of our seas and oceans, as well as the unpredictability of hostile weather conditions.

The millions of pesos that the oil industry and oil tanker business invested in maintaining oil spill response and containments vessels and systems were not enough to counter the damage of oil spills simply because operating single-hulled tankers was just too risky.

Thankfully, with the MARINA circular that paved the way for the modernization of the country’s domestic oil tankers in five years, there has not been any incident of oil spill pollution since the program’s completion involving the petroleum product carriers.

And the Philippines can even boast today of having one of the most modern domestic tanker fleets in the world.

RORO modernization

That being the case, there is hope that a solution lies at hand that would upgrade our ROROS to becoming one of the safest in the world too. Sure, there are far more of these sea-going vessels than oil barges and tankers, but this should not discourage us from trying to find a solution.

Our current fleet of ROROs is just too old and unsafe to continue providing the service that we Filipinos, everyday commuters and businessmen, need to be able to reach our destinations in one piece.

Definitely, we should do something about this hare-brained idea of importing second-hand ROROs and sea vessels from Japan and Korea without giving much thought to their adaptability to the more rugged Philippine waters.

Most of these ferries were designed to account for the more placid inland bodies of water of the respective countries of the original vessel owners, and are not well fit to travel our seasonally rough, open-sea interisland water routes, much more so when encountering storm surge and typhoons that are unique to the Philippines.

No excuses now

For decades now, Filipinos have had to contend with the many excuses that have prevented the institution of the right and justified remedies that would make Philippine seas safe from these “floating coffins.”

Whenever an accident occurs where lives and property are lost, the government launches a fact-finding investigation to determine the reason for the accident and to establish who exactly is culpable for the tragedy. After a month or so, the investigation loses public interest, and is relegated to the inside pages of newspapers, if at all.

Often, when the public clamors for the grounding of a shipping company whose ship or ferry was involved in the accident, the appropriate government agency replies that the liable company itself cannot be banned from operating because it would jeopardize the meager public transport services plying its other lines of operation.

When will P-Noy act?

In effect, these shipping companies are disregarding the safety of passengers and cargo with the excuse that they have to continue operating in other parts of the country to serve the needs of a wider public. Oftentimes, these companies try to avoid paying for the necessary upgrades to their vessels with the excuse that they would be operating at a loss.

All of these, and many others, are excuses that must not be entertained for the more important reason: the public safety. Until when will P-Noy (our government) just stand by doing nothing? –Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star)