by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Apr 23 (PIA) – A
Philippine Navy ship rescues a foreign luxury ship adrift Sulu Sea Friday.
A report reached Naval Forces West (NFW) that
a fire broke out late Friday in an engine room on a Malta luxury cruise ship
causing the ship to lose its power and drift in the Sulu Sea at approximately
130 kilometers or 75 nautical miles from Tubbataha Reef in Palawan.
A search and rescue operation was immediately
conducted by the Philippine Navy with the Philippine Air Force and the
Philippine Coast Guard. NFW directed BRP Juan Magluyan (PG392) under the command
of Lt. Commander John De Villa PN to proceed in the area to assist the said
luxury cruise.
NFW Public Affairs Officer Lt. Noel Joseph B.
Cadigal (PN) disclosed that at about 11:12 a.m. of March 31, 2012, Captain
Karlsson reported that the vessel incurred minor fire and the situation is
under control. The flames engulfed one of the ship’s engine rooms but were
quickly extinguished. Five crew members suffered smoke inhalation, including
one, identified as Juan Carlos Rivera Escobar, who was seriously injured and
needed hospital care.
More than one third, or 201, of the
passengers on board are American, and 119 of the crew are Filipinos, according
to a list of passengers and crew nationalities provided by Captain Karlsson.
The cruise ship is owned by Azamara Club
Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The 180-meter (592-foot)
vessel was on a 17-night voyage that departed Hong Kong, China on Monday, March
26, and included port calls to Manila, Philippines; Sandakan, Malaysia; Palapo,
Benoa, Semarang and Komodo, Indonesa; and was meant to conclude in Singapore on
Thursday, April 12. As a result of the fire, the rest of the ship’s voyage has
been cancelled.
