Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 5) — The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) on Wednesday said there is probable cause to bring administrative charges against the owner of the MT Princess Empress, the tanker that sank off Oriental Mindoro.
In a statement, MARINA said it is preparing to file administrative charges against the ship’s owner RDC Reield Marine Services Inc. for “operating without authority or operating without a valid Certificate of Public Conveyance (CPC).”
The regulator said it found that the “respondent still chose to operate the subject ship, and this they had done not only once but nine (9) times,” as stated in a resolution it issued on March 30.“Operating a ship in domestic trade without a valid CPC is a prohibited act under Section 16, Chapter VI of RA 9295, and Section 16, Rule VI of the 2014 Amendments to the Revised Rules and Regulations implementing RA 9295,” MARINA said.
“This prohibition is likewise reflected in Section 7, Rule III of the 2014 Amendments which requires that the CPC shall be amended in case a ship is to be added or removed from the shipowners/operators’ CPC,” it added.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) previously said it is investigating the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and MARINA for allowing MT Princess Empress to sail without a permit to operate.
DOJ chief Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said people should be held accountable for the oil spill.
MT Princess Empress sank off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28 while carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel.
The oil spill it caused has so far affected 178,000 individuals in 187 barangays and the livelihoods of thousands of fisherfolk.
A month since it capsized, the PCG said the sunken tanker is estimated to have already released close to half of the oil it carried.
