DOLE orders work stoppage on ships owned by MV June Aster operator

MANILA (UPDATED)— A work stoppage order has been issued for the six ships of Atienza Interisland Ferries — owner of the MV June Aster that caught fire off Coron in Palawan in September — Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said.

Tolentino said Department of Labor and Employment – National Capital Region suspended the operations of the vessels, which are docked in Navotas, due to a lack of an Occupational Safety and Health program, safety officers, and emergency preparedness module.

“So stop work na ang Atienza shipping company,” Tolentino said on the sidelines of the ASEAN Green Jobs Forum.

(So, work must stop at the Atienza shipping company.)

Covered by the work stoppage are MV Star San Carlos, MV September Tulips, MV December Poinsettia, MV October Lavender, MV May Lillies, and MV November Cattleya.

The shipping company has until October 23 to comply with worker safety and health policies.

Tolentino said Atienza Interisland Ferries workers must still be paid despite the stoppage order.

More than 70 people died and more than 60 were injured in the fire on MV June Aster, which authorities believe was caused by chlorine and asphalt mixing together in the ship’s cargo area during rough seas.

The Bureau of Fire Protection also said the ship’s ventilation system was malfunctioning, which ignited the highly-combustible mixture aboard the ship.

“Possibly bago nila naramdaman ang init, they were already suffocated… kaya marami po ang casualties,” BFP officer-in-charge Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu said last week of the ventilation system.

(Passengers may have already suffocated before they sensed the heat… that’s why there were many casualties.)