The Philippines were struck by a fatal incident, after three passenger motorboats capsized off the city Iloilo, Panay, on Saturday, August 3. The capsized incident resulted to 31 of the passengers found dead, according to Iloilo city officials.
The vessels that capsized were the Keziah 2, Chi-chi, that capsized in a squall on Saturday afternoon, whereas the Jenny Vince capsized a few hours later.
According to sources, the search and recovery of the victims was halted on Tuesday, August 6, and authorities recovered all passengers. Following the deathly incident, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) began the investigation of the event, and monitored the search and rescue operations.
Also, the MARINA stated that they are now to review and assessment of safety conditions of said vessels until further notice.
The MARINA continues to remind operators to ensure maritime safety at all times by observing the latest weather forecast, conducting proper risk assessment, and applying control measures, as needed.
To better serve the needs of passengers in the affected area, the MARINA is set to direct two Roll-on / Roll-off vessels to increase their schedule of voyage frequency in the Iloilo-Guimaras route.
Overall, the Philippines have seen a number of deadly accidents. Therefore, SAFETY4SEA has provided a timeline of the deadliest shipping disasters in the Philippines:
- Dec 1987– A total of 4,386 die in world’s worst peacetime shipping disaster, after Dona Paz and an oil tanker collide off Mindoro Island.
- Oct 1988– Dona Marilyn, sister ship of Dona Paz, sinks off Leyte province, killing around 300.
- July 1993– 279 pilgrims drown when an overloaded wooden temple, mounted on three boats, collapses during a religious festival as it is being towed along the Bocaue river, 20 km (12 miles) north of Manila.
- Dec 1994– Ferry Cebu City collides with Singapore oil tanker, killing more than 140.
- Sept 1998– Almost 200 die when the ferry ‘Princess of the Orient’, sister ship of Dona Paz and Dona Marilyn, sinks in stormy seas near Cavite and Batangas.
- April 2000– At least 138 drown after the ML Annahada sinks off Jolo island in the southern part of the country.
- February 2004– Superferry 14 catches fire near Manila Bay, killing 116 people. Abu Sayyaf claims responsibility, saying a suicide bomber sabotaged the boat to protest ill treatment of Muslim communities.
- June 2008–Princess of Stars sinks 3 km from Sibuyan island, killing about 800 people.
- Sept 2009– SuperFerry 9 sank off Zamboanga Peninsula killing 10 people.
