Criminal raps filed vs Sulpicio Lines execs, ‘Princess’ captain

MANILA, Philippines – The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has filed criminal complaints against the officers of Sulpicio Lines Inc. and the missing captain of the MV Princess of the Stars in connection with the passenger vessel’s sinking last June 21. Complainants in the suit, which was lodged before the Department of Justice (DOJ), were 13 [...]

P9.8-M suit starts wave of civil cases vs Sulpicio

MANILA, Philippines – A P9.8-million civil suit was lodged Thursday against Sulpicio Lines Inc. for the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy, even as government lawyers said more suits are to come. Radio dzRH reported Thursday afternoon that relatives of Jonathan Calayag lodged the case before the Manila regional trial court with the help of [...]

UN team to advise on salvage of toxic Philippine ferry cargo

UN experts are expected in the Philippines later Friday to advise the authorities on the salvage of a capsized ferry laden with toxic chemicals to avoid an ecological disaster, officials said. They will be based on the central island of Sibuyan, near where the 24,000-ton Princess of the Stars with hundreds of people and 10 [...]

Philippine ferry disaster investigators quit over ‘bias’

Two members of a Philippine panel investigating a ferry disaster which cost about 800 lives quit Tuesday after the ship’s operator accused them of bias. Rear Admiral Benjamin Mata and Commodore Amado Romillo of the Philippine Coast Guard said they were stepping down to “preserve the integrity” of the board of marine inquiry. The Princess [...]

Coast Guard: Legal row won’t stall BMI probe

MANILA, Philippines – Sulpicio Lines’ petition seeking to stop an ongoing Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) investigation into the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy will not stop the Board from doing its work, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday. Radio dzBB’s Sam Nielsen reported that PCG commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said [...]

Maritime safety not a priority in RP; Coast Guard struggles to stay afloat

MANILA, Philippines – Ironically, for an archipelago like the Philippines, maritime safety takes a backseat. What is considered to be the biggest maritime disaster in the world happened on Philippine waters — the 1987 collision between passenger ship MV Doña Paz and oil tanker MT Vector. Post-tragedy reports revealed the dead numbered as many as [...]

EU to send mission after Philippines ferry disaster

The European Union is to send a mission of experts to investigate toxic chemicals on board a Philippine ferry which sank carrying more than 850 people, French officials said Friday. Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie decided after discussions with the foreign and European affairs ministries that an EU “mission of expertise and support” should be sent [...]

BMI findings in major marine mishaps

GMA News Research compiled a list of 49 major sea mishaps from 1980 up to the recent M/V Princess of the Stars incident. The list is mostly sourced from Board of Marine Inquiry data (1980-2006) and news reports (2007-2008). News Research has brief details on the BMI findings in 20 mishaps, from the Doña Paz [...]

Interpol team to identify victims of sunken Philippines ferry

An Interpol team has been sent to the Philippines to help in the recovery and identification of some 800 victims of a passenger ferry that sank nine days ago, the global police agency said Monday. The team arrived Sunday on the central island of Cebu at the Philippines government’s request, the agency based in the [...]

Salvage team inspects sunken Philippine ferry

A specialist salvage team Monday began inspecting a sunken passenger ferry in the central Philippines to determine how to remove tonnes of highly toxic pesticide. The team will try to remove the chemicals, which were illegally carried, before resuming operations to recover hundreds of bodies thought still trapped inside the 24,000-tonne ferry nine days after [...]