More than 20 crew members have been treated for sulphuric acid poisoning on a ro-pax in the Philippines.
Emergency services took the seafarers to hospital following a spill on the the 3,000-gt Filipinas Surigao del Norte (built 1999) at Cebu on Saturday.
The Inquirer reported that the captain of the Cokaliong Shipping Lines ferry, Ervin Lumbab, was among those affected.
Jessie Nieves, the ship’s second officer, told reporters a sealed container carrying the chemical fell while being loaded by a forklift inside the ship.
“The chemical was bound for Calbayog [in Samar]. It was put on a forklift, but unfortunately, it suddenly fell,” he said.
The officer added that many of his colleagues experienced nausea, while some vomited after inhaling the chemical.
More than 10 seafarers needed immediate treatment by a medical team from the Cebu Port Authority.
The Sunstar reported that the container hit another as it fell off the forklift.
Senior fire officer Wendell Villanueva, of the Cebu City fire office, said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) special rescue force attended the scene.
Passengers evacuated
He added: “Cebu City port was under the command and control of the Bureau of Fire Protection. Passengers trapped inside the vessel were safely rescued and evacuated and further given medical care.”
AIS data showed the ropax moored in Surigao on Tuesday.
The vessel is classed by Registro Italiano Navale.
The Equasis database lists no recent port control inspections on its record.
The insurer is not known.
Cokaliong Shipping Lines has a fleet of 17 ropaxes and tugs.
