The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines on Thursday confirmed that a foreign vessel spotted off the coast here is owned by a contractor fixing a damaged submarine cable which is part of the 350kV Mindanao-Visayas Inter-connection Project (MVIP).
Michelle Visera, corporate communications and public affairs officer of the NGCP in Negros Island, said the MVIP is an ongoing undertaking to connect the Visayas and Mindanao areas through underwater cables.
She issued the clarification following some inquiries from the public on the presence of the vessel that has been seen for several days now in different locations hundreds of kilometers off the coast of this city.
Some residents expressed concern through social media over the presence of the vessel amid the controversy surrounding the proposed 174-hectare reclamation project here.
Records from the Bureau of Customs in Cebu City showed that the vessel, M/V Nexans Skagerrak, which is flying the Norwegian flag, arrived at the Cebu Port on September 8 for cable replacement operations.
Prior to proceeding here, representatives from the BOC, Bureau of Immigration, and other government agencies in Cebu boarded the vessel, which has a skipper and crew who are from Norway, Poland and Denmark.
Visera said they still could not say when the submarine cable repair would be completed.*PNA
