The body of an alleged victim of the ill-fated MV Catalyn-B was recovered in the vicinity of the coastal town of Mariveles, Bataan Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed.

Coast Guard Spokesman Lt. Cdr. Armand Balilo said that their detachment in Mariveles reported that a motor fishing banca named Mbca King Mark 2 recovered a floating body wearing an orange life-vest embedded with the brand “MV Catalyn-B” 10 nautical miles from the site of the sinking which happened early morning of Dec. 24 or around 13 days ago.

Based on the description of the retrieved cadaver, the male passenger was wearing black shirt and maong short pants and the authorities later discovered his identification based on the voter’s I.D. found in his wallet bearing the name of Michael Cajayon Almodal, 33 years old.

The name of Almodal is listed in the passenger manifesto submitted by the ship’s owner, San Nicholas Shipping Lines, according to Balilo.

Lt. Cdr. Balilo appealed to all the fishermen in the nearby coastal towns to be on alert for possible floating bodies or survivors.

The Coast Guard last Sunday suspended its under water retrieval operations beneath the wreckage site to study the underwater video captured by the Remote Operated Vehicle (R.O.V.) powered by Malayan Towage Company.

PCG-NCR District Commander Commodore Luis Tuason Jr. said that this is to ensure the safety of the six PCG Auxiliary Divers led by Capt. Matt Caldwell who are doing a risky task.

“We would like to put into consideration the safety of our divers that’s why we temporarily suspended the retrieval operations last Sunday for us to study the situation inside the ship and the position of the passengers,” Tuason said.

In the video released by the Coast Guard, several piled-up bodies were discovered trapped inside the sunken ship. Tuason said that the underwater retrieval operations will resume on Wednesday.