Ben Madilynn
SEVERAL sea trips from Cebu were cancelled due to inclement weather and rough sea conditions.
The Coast Guard District Central Visayas issued travel suspensions due to the tropical storm “Bebinca” on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. It said that all operations will resume once it is deemed safe for vessels to navigate the seas.
Travel advisories were issued for vessels with a gross tonnage of 250 and below, affecting routes from Negros Oriental, Western Bohol, Eastern Bohol, Camotes and Siquijor. Additionally, vessels with a gross tonnage of 15 and below are temporarily prohibited from setting sail from Northern Cebu, Central Cebu and Southern Cebu.
Also on Saturday, the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) posted on its Facebook page the cancelled trips from Cebu to Bohol.
CPA public information officer Mary Knoll Lague-Bolasa, in a chat message to SunStar Cebu, advised those who could go home to go and wait for updates.
When asked if there were passengers who were stranded, she said they would make a declaration at 7 p.m.
“Mga stranded passengers mao na among i-turn over to concerned LGU (local government unit) to take shelter kay bawal magtambay ang mga stranded passengers sa pantalan, especially kusog ang hangin ug bawd,” she said.
(We will be turning over the stranded passengers to the concerned LGU for sheltering since they are not allowed to loiter in the port, especially if the wind and waves are strong.)
Among the canceled trips were:
• Cebu to Tagbilaran City, Bohol: Oceanjet services scheduled for 9:20 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 4:40 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.
• Cebu to Tagbilaran City, Bohol: Supercat services scheduled for 3:45 p.m.
• Cebu to Getafe, Bohol: Oceanjet services scheduled for 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., as well as Clemer Lines for 9 a.m.
• Cebu to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental: Oceanjet service scheduled for 8:20 a.m.
• Cebu to Tubigon, Bohol: Mv Star Crafts service scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
• Cebu to Hilongos, Leyte: Gabisan Shipping service scheduled for 1 p.m.
• Taloot, Argao to Loon, Bohol: Lite Shipping service scheduled for 2 p.m.
According to a report from the Philippine News Agency, strong winds and rough seas are expected over the western sections of Southern Luzon and the Visayas, while moderate to strong winds and rough seas will be experienced in Mindanao and the rest of Southern Luzon and Visayas.
The weather bureau announced on Saturday that the southwest monsoon or “habagat” will continually affect Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, which will bring rains over a large part of the country.
The trough of tropical storm Bebinca, formerly Ferdie, will still bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over the rest of Luzon even if it is already outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach out to Jhomer Eclarino, weather specialist of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration Regional Services Division, but to no avail. / JPS / PNA
