CEBU CITY – A Cebu-bound passenger vessel conked out off Apo Island Saturday night, leaving the fate of 465 passengers to strong winds and waves for nearly an hour before it was towed to safety.

The vessel, M/V Georich, left the port of Dapitan at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday on its way to Cebu.

It was set to make a stopover in Dumaguete City but about two hours into the voyage, it experienced a malfunction in its main engine.

Port captain Gerry Enjambre of George and Peter Lines, the company that owns the vessel, said it was determined that some parts of the engine were damaged beyond repair.

The ship, commanded by Capt. Roland Villarin, immediately reported the incident to the nearest Coast Guard station who also immediately radioed nearby vessels to tow M/V Georich to the Dumaguete port.

Some of the passengers said it took more than 40 minutes before they were informed of what happened to the vessel.

A total of 465 passengers were on board the ship, 35 of them children.

The ship was scheduled to arrive in Dumaguete at 8 p.m. but the incident delayed its arrival there by seven hours.

Towed by M/V Filipinas Iloilo, M/V Georich finally reached Dumaguete at 2 a.m. the following day, Sunday.

A third of the passengers were bound for Dumaguete and ended their journey once the ship arrived there.

The rest had to ride the buses commissioned by GP Lines to take them to Cebu, a trip that included a ferry ride.

Seven buses carrying passengers from the damaged ship arrived at the Cebu South Bus Terminal at noon Sunday.

The Maritime Industry Authority(Marina) Monday said it was still waiting for the official marine protest to be filed by the ship’s captain before they can launch an investigation on the incident.