Passengers and crew of a roll-on/roll-off vessel were safely evacuated after the ship ran aground near Barangay Udalo in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the MV RoRo Master 5 ran aground at around 12:45 a.m. while traveling from Batangas Port to Abra de Ilog.
The vessel was reportedly about 30 meters from the shoreline when it became grounded.
The PCG used four life rafts and a lifeline connected to the shoreline to safely transfer those aboard the vessel.
By 6 a.m., the passengers had been brought to the Port of Abra de Ilog with assistance from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and Orange Navigation Inc.
The PCG said no oil spill was observed in the surrounding area and no water had entered the vessel.
Based on the initial investigation, a suspected gyrocompass failure may have caused the vessel to deviate from its designated route and run aground.
The PCG is still verifying the total number of passengers, crew members and rolling cargo aboard the vessel.
Meanwhile, Orange Navigation Inc. has requested a tugboat to assist in refloating the ship.
Authorities continue to assess the incident and the vessel’s condition as efforts are being prepared to move it from the area.
