Philippines grounds ferry operator’s fleet after deadly sinking
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A screen grab from video footage taken on Jan 26 shows rescuers helping survivors of the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sinking off the Philippines.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – The Philippines grounded on Jan 27 the passenger fleet of a local shipping line pending an investigation, as rescuers scoured the ocean for survivors of a ferry sinking that killed at least 18 people.
The MV Trisha Kerstin 3 was carrying 344 passengers and crew when it went down off south-western Mindanao in the early hours of Jan 26. Most people were rescued in the immediate aftermath.
The 10 people still unaccounted for include the ferry’s captain, eight crew members and a safety marshal, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gavan told reporters.
The triple-decker vessel sank on nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry. Both ships were owned by locally based operator Aleson Shipping Lines.
Philippine Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the company’s passenger fleet would be kept at port pending an investigation.
“As of now, the entire passenger fleet of Aleson Shipping Company (is) grounded,” he said, adding that the country’s maritime regulator and coast guard would conduct a safety audit over the next 10 days.
“The President has ordered a full-blown investigation, so all the angles will be looked at to determine what really happened,” he said.
“If it turns out the shipowners were deficient, they will expect the full force of the law,” Mr Lopez told reporters.
He added that there have been 32 recorded safety “incidents” at sea involving the company but offered no specifics.
Admiral Gavan said ongoing search-and-rescue efforts remained the immediate priority.
“The most important thing at this point are lives,” he said, adding that 16 technical divers
A coast guard press aide said the ship is believed to be sitting at a depth of about 76m.
An Aleson Shipping Lines employee who answered the phone said the company would release a statement addressing the situation within the day.
‘Negligent’
On Jan 26, a survivor of the sinking said “no one from the crew alerted us”, describing the panic that gripped passengers as the ship began tilting in the water.
Mr Aquino Sajili said passengers raced to one side of the ship in a desperate attempt to rebalance it before he heard a “loud snap” that preceded the ship’s rapid sinking.
Those who survived then spent hours bobbing in life jackets or clinging to other flotation devices while awaiting rescue, the 53-year-old lawyer said.
“I think we can gather enough evidence to prove that the crew members of the ship were really negligent,” Mr Sajili said, adding that he believed a lawsuit was likely.
The Philippines has a long history of disasters involving inter-island ferries that ply its seas. Many rely on cheap and poorly regulated boats and ships for transport between the country’s more than 7,000 islands.
A 2015 ferry capsizing off the western coast of Leyte Island resulted in more than 60 deaths.
In 1987, the Dona Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker in a pre-Christmas accident, claiming more than 4,000 lives. It was the world’s worst peacetime disaster at sea. AFP
