Hello List, haven't checked the board the last few days since I was out of the country.
To begin with, I am HAPPY--ECSTATIC --as a matter of fact that the incident regarding the Stella Maris rescuing the passengers of the Vasco came up because it is something that I have wanted to get off my chest.
You know how there are 2 sides to a coin ? Well here it is.....
A few days after the incident my boss at the PCSSD Cynthia Carrion called me up at the office screaming about how someone from the group had called her to report all those things that Jane and Andrew had said..more or less to the ff:
That they were not "FED" or given rooms and that they were made to sleep in the salon.
That the manager was inhospitable.
That she violated Tubbataha rules by dumping the trash overboard.
and it was also pointed out to me that there were , indeed, celebrities and rich people (and sinabi pa sa akin yung apelyido nila ha) and that these were not just "ordinary people"
I listened, steamed, because who wouldn't? It sounded so terrible. (--for the record --I was most upset about the garbage part...) So I said I would find out and get to the bottom of it and call Usec Carrion back.
I called up the boat manager and spoke to Axelle the boat manager and after-wards asked her to send me an email and I am enclosing her email reply to me: (in italics)
'On May 14th, 2008 at 1335H, MV Stella Maris Explorer departed Tubbataha Reef after giving assistance to the MV Vasco. 19 guests and 2 stewards from MV Vasco were transfered to MV Stella Maris as MV Vasco was unable to sail back to PPC.
The weather was extremelly bad and the ship listed 30 degrees starboard because of big waves.
At 1535H, the crew of Stella Maris observed that the vessel was unstable, pitching hard and having a hard time fighting the waves.
At 1600H, the crew discovered that the forepart of the vessel was flooding because of the garbage stuck on her freeing port. The flood was about 2 feet high. The crew decided to throw the garbage overboard as fast as possible in order to free the waterways and restore the stability of the ship. '
Vasco had a major engine failure, and they were unable to reach a mooring boy. We wanted to leave Tubbataha at 1000H, but stayed with them to assist them. We towed them to the safest mooring buoy on Bird Islet, while our chaseboats were helping getting their ship secured. Our chaseboats then transfered their 19 passengers onto Stella to bring them back to PPC, away from the storm.
The garbage on Stella is normally stored in a big container at the front of the boat. Because of the storm, we needed to add weight on the back of the chaseboats to prevent them from sinking while they were towed. We therefore used all containers available, which meant the garbage was not secured, and got dispersed because of the waves. It blocked all the waterways in between the tanks on the starboard side, and seeing the emergency, the crew, with the approval of the captain and myself, decided to free the waterways as fast as possible. We were by then in open ocean, almost three hours away from Tubbataha.
I did explain to the Vasco customers that in normal conditions, we would never throw out any garbage, and that we are very strict on bringing all of our waste back to port. I was hoping they would have understood the emergency of the situation, especially as we had 37 guests on board with full diving equipment.
With regards to the food...the Stella was at the end of her trip, our provisions were low as to be expected and we had our own guests to take care of. Did you Andrew, Jane and the rest of the spoiled brats whose sorry butts we rescued, expect the manager to kick
our customers out of their rooms so that you can have your own bed and for us to deny what our customers paid for?
And here folks is the kicker: THE FOOD OF THE VASCO was offloaded and the stewards that were with you were supposed to feed you with it. That's why they came on board--they were supposed to be attending to your needs-That was the arrangement between the Stella and the Vasco. WHY you weren't fed is a question you should have asked the Vasco operator.
Oh and here is what the crew told me afterwards, "ma'am kaya nag clog yung mga outlet ng tubig kasi yung mga dive bags ng mga taga vasco ayaw paiwan and they were also on the deck nag bo-block kasi pinalagay nila sa lugar para hindi mabasa, mataas na yung tubig maam.
And in addition: My liason officer from-Expedition Fleet- was the one who spent a sleepless night trying to get rooms and transfers in PP for the refugees because of course they all wanted to sleep in their own beds. In her words, "maam galit pa sila ng dumating kasi bakit wala pa daw yung mga van kasi gusto na daw nila mag check in-D na nga nag thank you ang bastus pa kung magsalita"
Needless to say after hearing this I called Cynthia right back and it was my turn to scream.I also called up the operator of the trip and yelled at him . BOTH apologized to me.
And then I bumped into a friend from Davao who was on the boat and he said he was on that boat and needless to say I lit into him too. I will not repeat what he said to me about your group but it has something to do with your heightened "sense of entitlement"
I also told the manager that next time this happens, just to get the people off the malfunctioning boat and leave. Forget the bags. Our primary responsibility is the safety of our passengers and that includes you and your friends Andrew.
Had I known that this is the kind of comments we would receive after saving your sorry b---s, we should have put you on the ranger station so you can hire another boat to rescue and transport you back to PP in the STYLE AND MANNER you expect.
To begin with, I am HAPPY--ECSTATIC --as a matter of fact that the incident regarding the Stella Maris rescuing the passengers of the Vasco came up because it is something that I have wanted to get off my chest.
You know how there are 2 sides to a coin ? Well here it is.....
A few days after the incident my boss at the PCSSD Cynthia Carrion called me up at the office screaming about how someone from the group had called her to report all those things that Jane and Andrew had said..more or less to the ff:
That they were not "FED" or given rooms and that they were made to sleep in the salon.
That the manager was inhospitable.
That she violated Tubbataha rules by dumping the trash overboard.
and it was also pointed out to me that there were , indeed, celebrities and rich people (and sinabi pa sa akin yung apelyido nila ha) and that these were not just "ordinary people"
I listened, steamed, because who wouldn't? It sounded so terrible. (--for the record --I was most upset about the garbage part...) So I said I would find out and get to the bottom of it and call Usec Carrion back.
I called up the boat manager and spoke to Axelle the boat manager and after-wards asked her to send me an email and I am enclosing her email reply to me: (in italics)
'On May 14th, 2008 at 1335H, MV Stella Maris Explorer departed Tubbataha Reef after giving assistance to the MV Vasco. 19 guests and 2 stewards from MV Vasco were transfered to MV Stella Maris as MV Vasco was unable to sail back to PPC.
The weather was extremelly bad and the ship listed 30 degrees starboard because of big waves.
At 1535H, the crew of Stella Maris observed that the vessel was unstable, pitching hard and having a hard time fighting the waves.
At 1600H, the crew discovered that the forepart of the vessel was flooding because of the garbage stuck on her freeing port. The flood was about 2 feet high. The crew decided to throw the garbage overboard as fast as possible in order to free the waterways and restore the stability of the ship. '
Vasco had a major engine failure, and they were unable to reach a mooring boy. We wanted to leave Tubbataha at 1000H, but stayed with them to assist them. We towed them to the safest mooring buoy on Bird Islet, while our chaseboats were helping getting their ship secured. Our chaseboats then transfered their 19 passengers onto Stella to bring them back to PPC, away from the storm.
The garbage on Stella is normally stored in a big container at the front of the boat. Because of the storm, we needed to add weight on the back of the chaseboats to prevent them from sinking while they were towed. We therefore used all containers available, which meant the garbage was not secured, and got dispersed because of the waves. It blocked all the waterways in between the tanks on the starboard side, and seeing the emergency, the crew, with the approval of the captain and myself, decided to free the waterways as fast as possible. We were by then in open ocean, almost three hours away from Tubbataha.
I did explain to the Vasco customers that in normal conditions, we would never throw out any garbage, and that we are very strict on bringing all of our waste back to port. I was hoping they would have understood the emergency of the situation, especially as we had 37 guests on board with full diving equipment.
With regards to the food...the Stella was at the end of her trip, our provisions were low as to be expected and we had our own guests to take care of. Did you Andrew, Jane and the rest of the spoiled brats whose sorry butts we rescued, expect the manager to kick
our customers out of their rooms so that you can have your own bed and for us to deny what our customers paid for?
And here folks is the kicker: THE FOOD OF THE VASCO was offloaded and the stewards that were with you were supposed to feed you with it. That's why they came on board--they were supposed to be attending to your needs-That was the arrangement between the Stella and the Vasco. WHY you weren't fed is a question you should have asked the Vasco operator.
Oh and here is what the crew told me afterwards, "ma'am kaya nag clog yung mga outlet ng tubig kasi yung mga dive bags ng mga taga vasco ayaw paiwan and they were also on the deck nag bo-block kasi pinalagay nila sa lugar para hindi mabasa, mataas na yung tubig maam.
And in addition: My liason officer from-Expedition Fleet- was the one who spent a sleepless night trying to get rooms and transfers in PP for the refugees because of course they all wanted to sleep in their own beds. In her words, "maam galit pa sila ng dumating kasi bakit wala pa daw yung mga van kasi gusto na daw nila mag check in-D na nga nag thank you ang bastus pa kung magsalita"
Needless to say after hearing this I called Cynthia right back and it was my turn to scream.I also called up the operator of the trip and yelled at him . BOTH apologized to me.
And then I bumped into a friend from Davao who was on the boat and he said he was on that boat and needless to say I lit into him too. I will not repeat what he said to me about your group but it has something to do with your heightened "sense of entitlement"
I also told the manager that next time this happens, just to get the people off the malfunctioning boat and leave. Forget the bags. Our primary responsibility is the safety of our passengers and that includes you and your friends Andrew.
Had I known that this is the kind of comments we would receive after saving your sorry b---s, we should have put you on the ranger station so you can hire another boat to rescue and transport you back to PP in the STYLE AND MANNER you expect.
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