While en route from San Carlos to Manila last July 31, 2011, the crew of the M/T Bigaa were monitoring the airwaves when they heard the news of divers in the vicinity of Puerto Galera who had been missing since the day before. The weather conditions were not ideal as it was dark, rainy and windy. At approximately 0715H, Radio Officer Petronilo B. Oja was surveying the sea when he saw an orange emergency buoy with what appeared to be two people holding on. Shortly after, Captain Limbo verified that there were indeed two people and surmised that these must be the missing divers that the radio reports were referring to. He then immediately maneuvered the ship to rescue the two individuals and reported the developments to the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) Batangas.  

Within minutes, the vessel was in a position to carry out the rescue operation. A life ring was thrown into the water and the divers were brought on board. Visibly weak from their ordeal, they were asked to lie down first while first aid was administered. Clothing, blankets, water and food were then provided for the two divers.  The crew later found out that the two Koreans, Mr. Oh Hyangrak and Mr. Koyong Jin, aged 40 and 35 respectively, were here on vacation. They went diving the day before up to depths of 120 meters. When they ascended from their dive, they were surprised to find out that the banca that had ferried them to the dive spot was no longer there.

They had tried to swim back to shore but the current was against them. As such, they were constrained to set up their emergency buoy in the hope that someone would come and rescue them. The two divers shared that several ships had passed them by but no one had noticed them until the M/T Bigaa. All in all, the two divers were stranded in the water for almost 16 hours with no food or water.  

Once the divers were safely on board, Capt. Limbo communicated with VTMS Batangas and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Batangas to coordinate the transfer of the Koreans. At around 0900H, the Koreans were transferred to a banca sent by the beach resort where they were staying. The Koreas hugged the Captain and expressed their extreme gratitude. They relayed that they realize how lucky they were to have survived their ordeal.  

Kudos to the crew of the M/T Bigaa for saving the day!