1,400 Passengers Stranded as Coast Guard Bars Small Vessels from Leaving Cebu Port

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Cebu has barred at least 13 vessels from leaving the Cebu port Sunday night as public storm signal number 1 was hoisted over northern Cebu, leaving some 1,400 passengers stranded in the city.

But Supt. Glenn Sarador, Cebu Port Authority (CPA) chief of police, said most of the stranded passengers opted to go home or stay with their relatives in Cebu.

Sarador said only 35 people were accommodated at the CPA’s Terminal 2 in Pier 3 in Cebu City.

CPA General Manager Edmund Tan said among the vessels barred from sailing were the M/V Filipinas and Filipinas Dumaguete of Cokaliong Shipping Lines; Lite Ferry 8 of Lite Shipping Lines; M/V Beautiful Stars of Roble Shipping Lines; Fiji II, Oceanjet 88, a 2Go fastcraft and M/V Glora G-1.

Commodore Enrico Evangelista, commander of the Coast Guard District in Central Visayas, said most of these vessels were bound for Maasin City in Southern Leyte, Ormoc City and Leyte.

The rest were bound for other points in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Evangelista said that two motor bancas bound for Ormoc City and Villaba, Leyte were also kept from leaving port.

Signal No. 1 is up over Northern Cebu, particularly Bantayan and Camotes Islands, and storm signal warnings were raised in up to 27 areas all over the country Sunday night as typhoon “Nona” intensifies.

Waves are expected to rise to 1.25 to four meters in the open sea.

Storm surges of up to 3.6 meters were also forecast over areas under Signal Nos. 2 and 3. (PNA) JMC/EB/EBP