In a report to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Arthur N. Gosingan, Coast Guard District 2 chief in Cebu, Commodore Alejandro Flora, said the mv Premship X had already submerged when search-and-rescue (SAR) teams from the Coast Guard Cebu Station arrived at the site.

The steel-hulled Premship, which was loaded with 17,000 sacks of rice, was sailing out of central Cebu City’s main harbor last Saturday when it collided with incoming cargo ship, m/v Mijara, the Coast Guard said.

The mv Premship 22 officers and crewmen jumped into the sea and were quickly rescued by a Coast Guard boat and the crewmen of the m/v Mijara, which was damaged but did not sink, the Coast Guard said.

Flora said the Coast Guard immediately gave first aid treatment to the rescued four officers and 18 crewmen of the ship.

Gosingan ordered a special board of marine inquiry (SBMI) to immediately investigate the incident and determine who was at fault in the collision.

The Premship was a general cargo-type ship with 193.73 gross ton weight, owned and operated by Premier Shipping Lines Inc. in Cebu City. It had four officers and 18 crew members when it departed Pier No. 4 of Cebu enroute to Catbalogan, Eastern Samar.

On the other hand, the m/v Mijara, Cotabato-based ship, was heading for PKS Shipyard, La Consolacion, Cebu for repair. It departed Kawayan, Iligan last Friday.

A marine environmental protection team was also dispatched to the area by the Coast Guard Cebu Station to monitor any oil spill. (With a report by AP)