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Manila: A food company charged a ship operator for claiming it did not know about the firm's toxic pesticide shipment, the discovery of which halted the retrieval of more than 700 bodies from the site of the sea tragedy in central Philippines last month.
"We will be filing counter-charges against Sulpicio Lines Inc [SLI] to set the record straight since our company's reputation is at stake," said Luis F. Alejandro, general manager and chief operating officer of Del Monte Philippines Inc (DMPI).
This was in response to the SLI's charges against the DMPI for alleged misdeclaration of its toxic cargo. The SLI claimed that DMPI misdeclared its shipment to save on shipment costs.
"The container van where our shipment of 10,000 kilograms of endosulfan [a toxic pesticide] was loaded, was labelled on all four sides with a picture of a skull and cross-bones, the number six, and a picture of a fish with a superimposed 'X' on it, and the words 'marine pollutant' underneath the picture," said Alejandro.
"The labels indicated that the goods inside the container van were toxic, as per International maritime Dangerous Goods code," Alejandro said.
Authorities stopped divers who were engaged in search and rescue operations after MV Princess of Stars sank due to typhoon Fengshen last June 21, after the discovery of the toxic chemical inside the ship.
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