The Philippine Coast Guard and a number of local private companies will soon begin work to refloat a cargo vessel that had run aground off the west-central Philippine province of Antique late last week.
The coast guard had given its approval for the refloating of the Vietnamese-flagged Globe 6 after divers that were deployed to the area following the grounding inspected the ship's hull and found no breaches or oil spills.
The damage was only minor and limited to an area of the hull just outside the engine room, coast guard divers confirmed.
Globe 6's local ship agent is currently negotiating with an Antique-based operator for the use of one of its tugs to assist in the refloating effort following the removal of the vessel's cargo of rice.
Globe 6 ran aground on a reef just off Antique on Thursday, August 13, while en route from Ho Chi Minh City to Davao City in the southern Philippines. The captain claims the incident occurred after the officer on watch fell asleep just as the vessel was passing through the two-kilometre stretch between the islands of Nagubat and Liwagao.