A passenger ship sank while it was docked in the dock in the Philippines, yet another incident that raises concerns about the safety of coastal shipping in Southeast Asia.
In yet another incident of a ship sinking while docked in a port in the Philippines, the shipping community witnessed, once again raising questions about the safety of coastal shipping in Southeast Asia.
The passenger ship Weesam Express sank while moored in a port in the Philippines on October 7 amidst bad weather. The crew members of the ship were rescued and, miraculously, there were no casualties. There have also been no reports of pollution from the ship.
The crew observed water ingress in the engine room around 3 a.m. local time. According to reports, they tried to pump out the water, but the pumps could not manage it and they were unable to cope with the water ingress.
Later, attempts to save the ship with the help of a tugboat failed.
The ship reportedly sank in the harbor around 5:20 a.m. The Philippine Coast Guard and other services have deployed an anti-pollution boom around the site in case of an oil spill.
It is known that almost all of Asia has very old passenger ships, poorly maintained, which are also often overloaded, resulting in some accidents having tragic outcomes.
