Maristela 2
On the morning of October 27, the tugboat Maristela 2 sank on the Iloilo River while berthed along Muelle Loney in Iloilo City, Philippines. The master was the sole person onboard the tug having his morning coffee when he felt the tugboat tilting over. He quickly disembarked onto the quay before the tugboat sank. Authorities were alerted and found an an oil sheen extending up to 250 meters around the site. The Philippine Coast Guard deployed an oil boom to contain the oil pollution while the tug owners, International Builders Corporation (IBC) of Iloilo brought a crane to the scene. The crane was able to recover the vessel on the early morning of October 28. No reports of injuries.
The Philippine Coast Guard released an initial report on the incident. They state the owners and the master of the tugboat may be held liable for the incident. The report states the Maristela 2 had been improperly moored. The mooring lines were set to tight which caused the tugboat to tilt on the ebb tide. The tugboat lost stability allowing water ingress resulting in its sinking. At the time of the incident, the Maristela 2 had some 200 litres of diesel fuel on board.
