Grounded Bulk Carrier Refloated from Famous Philippine Reef

MV Belle Rose. File photo: MarineTraffic.com/

A Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier has been refloated after running aground on at a world-famous diving site off Cebu, Philippines last week.

The ship, MV Belle Rose, was refloated Saturday morning and moved to an anchorage off the coast San Fernand, Cebu under its own power. According to reports a salvage team from Malayan Towage and Salvaging Corp. used three tugs to pull the vessel into deeper water where they then tested the ships engines and further inspected the hull for damages. No oil spill has been reported.

The 183-meter Belle Rose ran aground June 13 on Monad Shoal, a famous dive site known as one of the only places on earth where you can consistently spot thresher sharks in the wild. The reef sits on the edge of a steep 200 meter drop off and ranges in depth from 20 to 27 meters.

The Philippine Coast Guard estimated previously that 483-meters of coral reef has been damaged as a result of the grounding.

The location of the grounding was approximately 4 nautical miles southeast of Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu.

The 50,472 DWT Belle Rose was built in 2010. The ship was sailing from Nantong, China to Cebu when the incident occurred.

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