Ferry Thomas Aquinas and the Freighter Sulpicio Express 7 Collide

Have you ever dreamed that someday you'll be Rose or Jack and be in a ship as luxurious as that of Titanic? Have you experienced sailing around the world like what Magellan did? Or have you imagined yourself being the ship captain?

Before you start dreaming again, compose yourself and be ready to uncover the horrible things that happened in the recent accident in the sea, to hear the agonizing shouts of the victims and to witness the unending search for missing passengers.

Article Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_St._Thomas_Aquinas

The 40-year old ship MV St. Thomas Aquinas of 2Go Group Inc. ended its service last August 16 when it collided with Freighter Sulpicio Express 7, a merchant ship owned by Philippines Span Asia Carrier Corporation. There has been an initial report of 31 passengers dead and 172 still missing. The alleged reason for its failure is its age but the owner claimed to have checked the ship carefully before letting the ship sail. The real cause of the accident is still a mystery. With the mystery still unsolved, it seems that the ship was abandoned by St. Thomas of Aquinas- the saint whom it was named after. It also seems that the horror of the past is haunting us. I mean this accident can similarly be compared to what happened to the Titanic before. There is a collision and with just one blink it sank.



According to the data provided by the statistics, there were many disasters like this that happened before. In my point of view, I am very sure that this accident brought fear not just to the victims and the owner but to all of us, to all people who are planning to go aboard. With this disaster, all of us will become cautious.

As a citizen of this country, I am also affected by the incident. A little change in our economy will really affect all of us. Fishermen in affected areas will loose their job and unemployment rate will rise. Personally, I am also afraid of eating fish. Who knows? Maybe the unsold buckets of fish in Cebu will be brought here. I am also aiming that someday I could go on a trip and maybe sail on a ship but how could I comfortably work for what I am aiming for if I am already frightened by disasters like this?

After a ship sank, it is expected that an oil spill will follow. Spillage of oil in bodies of water will contaminate many of the aquatic resources. Many fishes will die. People in the affected areas whose daily expenses are supported by fishing will find difficulty in coping with the crisis. Many

will stop fishing and unemployment rate will rise. Fish which is part of the daily meal of most of us will become threat to our health. Due to contamination, people will become paranoid and will temporarily avoid buying and eating fish even if the supplies do not come from affected areas.
The demand for fish will decline and eventually there will be a surplus. This surplus if not addressed will bring loss to market vendors.
On the other side of the coin, this incident brings luck to meat vendors. People will tend to change their diet for the meantime and will only eat beef, pork and chicken meat. Buyers will demand for more meat and the industry for meat will boom.

Nobody wants to be blamed but it is an accident. Instead of pointing fingers against each other, I think both the owner and the victims should take steps in coping with the situation. Both parties should contribute as to recovering from that accident. Blaming each other is not the solution. The damages and casualties will not be written off if one party succeeds in blaming the other party. Instead of focusing on filing cases, maybe both parties should talk sincerely and settle the matter without appealing to the court. After all, no one ever planned this to happen.