WHO TO BLAME? FRANK OR THE CAPTAIN?

UNEDITED SAMPLE NEWS ARTICLE
By Ancilla Marie Baulita Inocencio
IV-Madame Marie Curie


MV Princess of the stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., disregarded the earlier report that the vessel sank due to engine failure; instead, they blamed nature and the captain of the ship for this tragedy.

The owner of the ship secured that the Princess of the Stars was in good condition when it left. He also said that the vessel never had engine problems prior to this.

Nelson P. Morales, SLI manager for safety and quality assurance said the ship has just undergone regular “dry-dock” inspection last year at the Subic shipyard, which is conducted every two and a half years as required by the Maritime Industry Authority.

The vessel, which carried over 800 passengers and crew, which left from Manila to Cebu on Friday, June 20, 2008, sank at the height of the storm, Saturday. The coast guard had allowed the ship to leave for Cebu since the storm was only reported to be at signal number 1, not expecting that the ship will meet the storm at signal number three. The SLI reported that the Captain of the Ship, Master Captain Florencio Marimon, had given a call before it launched last Saturday that they had lost control of the ship but nothing about engine troubles.

The route taken by Marimon was usually safe but typhoon Frank unexpectedly changed its direction, leading towards the path taken by the vessel, tipping the ship over at a deep area of the sea.

SLI promises the families of the dead passengers P200, 000 each and sufficient compensation for the survivors.