A fire broke out yesterday at the "wagon deck area" of the St. Joseph the Worker passenger ship owned by the Negros Navigation Company, off the coast of Bayawan, Oriental Negros.

Nobody was hurt among its passengers bound for the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo as well as Manila, NN officials said.

"All the 385 passengers were safe and accounted for," Grace Golez, its Bacolod branch manager, said.

Capt. Leo Inocencio, ship captain of the St. Joseph the Worker, said the fire alarm sounded while the ship was cruising four miles off Balatong Point, between Bayawan, Oriental Negros, Hinobaan, Negros Occidental at about 2:40 a.m. yesterday.

Inocencio said he immediately activated the ship's emergency response procedures and water sprinklers, while the responding fire fighting teams put out the blaze after 30 minutes. Lt. Cmdr. Harold Jarder, Coast Guard Bacolod detachment chief, yesterday dispelled reports that it was a product of a terroristic act.

It was purely an accident, Jarder told the DAILY STAR.

A joint investigation of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire and Protection showed that the incident could have been triggered by cigaret butts, which may have caught wastes soiled with flammable liquid.

The fire also burned electrical wirings connected to the steering system of the passenger ship, Jarder said.

Coast Guard authorities also strongly suggested that the management of Negros Navigation inspect thoroughly the damage from the fire to ensure the seaworthiness of the passenger ship.

Meanwhile, Golez assured families of the passengers bound for Manila that there is nothing to worry about. "Everything now is under control. It was a very minor incident," she added.

The St. Joseph the Worker passenger ship left the port of Cagayan de Oro at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, and was expected to make its first stop at the port of Bacolod 6:30 a.m. yesterday.

Despite the minor incident, Golez said the passenger ship managed to travel at its regular speed of 18 knots.

The ship arrived at about 11 p.m. yesterday, although it was observed to have some difficulty in docking at the Banago Port in Bacolod City.

Of the 385 ship passengers, 56 were bound for Bacolod, 89 for Iloilo and the rest for Manila.

The 56 Bacolod passengers disembarked from the passenger ship, while the 89 other passengers were transferred to a fast craft bound for Iloilo.

Region 10 Tourism director Butch Chan and Ruby Yap, a reporter of the Philippine News Agency, who were among the 385 passengers, commended crew members of the St. Joseph the Worker for managing the emergency situations.*GPB/DMG

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