The Philippines grounds Aleson Shipping’s passenger fleet after a ferry sinking kills 18, with 10 missing and a full investigation ordered.
MANILA: The Philippines has grounded the entire passenger fleet of a local shipping operator following a deadly ferry sinking that killed at least 18 people.
The MV Trisha Kerstin 3 was carrying 344 passengers and crew when it sank off southwestern Mindanao early on Monday, with most rescued in the immediate aftermath.
Ten people remain missing, including the ferry’s captain, eight crew members, and a safety marshall, according to Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gavan.
The triple-decker vessel sank on nearly the same route where 31 people died in a 2023 ferry fire, with both ships owned by Aleson Shipping Lines.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez confirmed the company’s passenger fleet would remain at port pending an investigation.
“As of now, the entire passenger fleet of Aleson Shipping Company (is) grounded,” he said.
Lopez stated 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 told reporters.
He warned that shipowners found deficient would face the full force of the law.
Lopez added there had been 32 recorded safety “incidents” at sea involving the company but offered no specifics.
Coast Guard Commandant Gavan said ongoing search-and-rescue efforts remained the immediate priority.
“The most important thing at this point is lives,” he said.
Sixteen technical divers and a remotely operated vehicle are being flown from Manila to assist in the coming investigation.
The ship is believed to be sitting at a depth of about 76 metres.
A survivor of the sinking said “no one from the crew alerted us” as panic gripped passengers.
Aquino Sajili described passengers racing to one side of the ship before hearing a “loud snap” preceding the rapid sinking.
Survivors spent hours in life jackets or clinging to floatation devices 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,” Sajili said, adding he believed a lawsuit was likely.
The Philippines has a long history of disasters involving its inter-island ferry network.
Many rely on cheap and poorly regulated boats for transport between the country’s more than 7,000 islands.
A 2015 ferry capsizing off Leyte Island resulted in more than 60 deaths.
The 1987 collision of the Dona Paz ferry with an oil tanker claimed more than 4,000 lives, marking the world’s worst peacetime disaster at sea.
