Philippine News--Sulpicio lines hit "bingo" (Update)

by jayr_patron | June 23, 2008 at 12:31 am

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Over the weekend, the 2,000-passenger ferry MV Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines, took off from the port of Manila en route to Cebu. It sank a few hours later off the coast of Romblon with more than 700 passengers and crew on board, amidst the lashing of typhoon Fengshen.

This is not the first time that the company's ships has experienced tragedy. In 1987, MV Doña Paz was on its way to Manila from Samar Island when it collided with oil tanker, the Vector. Casualties ran to almost 4,500, considered as the worst maritime disaster during peacetime.

Philippine authorities ordered an inquest into the recent tragedy and Sulpicio Lines. One official has even gone as far as saying that the company has hit "bingo" with its terrible maritime record.

MV Marilyn
Owned by Sulpicio Lines
Date 1988
Casualties 300
The sister ship of the MV Dona Paz, sinks off the central province of Leyte, killing 300

MV Doña Paz
Owned by Sulpicio Lines
Date December 20, 1987
Casualties 4,341
The Doña Paz was en route from Catbalogan, on Samar Island, Philippines, to Manila when, while it was in the Tablas Strait, between islands of Mindoro and Tablas, it collided with a small oil tanker, the Vector, which was carrying 8,800 barrels of petroleum products

MV Princess of the Orient
Owned by Sulpicio Lines
Date September 18, 1998
Casualties 150
In September 18, 1998, Sulpicio’s M/V Princess of the Orient, sailing from Manila to Cebu, capsized at 12:55 p.m. near Fortune Island in Batangas. Of 388 passengers on board, 150 perished. Passengers were floating at sea for more than 12 hours before rescuers were able to reach survivors. [3] The overloaded MV Princess of the Orient sailed into a typhoon in September 1998. Seventy people died and 80 were missing

MV Princess of the World
Owned by Sulpicio Lines
Date 2005
Casualties None
Sulpicio’s M/V Princess of the World caught fire while at sea, but no injuries were reported

MV Princess of the Stars
Owned by Sulpicio Lines
Date June 22, 2008
Casualties More than 700 missing
MV Princess of the Stars, which sank at the height of Typhoon Frank which lashed Luzon and the Visayas and parts of Mindanao at the weekend, was built in Japan in 1984 with 23,824 gross registered tonnage and a passenger capacity of 1,992. It was acquired by Sulpicio Lines in the mid- 1990s and the company has been using it since then

Source: Wikipedia.org

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) grounded yesterday all vessels of Sulpicio Lines, owner of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars that capsized off Romblon last Saturday, as the investigation into the latest sea tragedy started.<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza issued the order to the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) during yesterday morning’s meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) at Malacañang.

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />Mendoza said that the MARINA would be sending teams to conduct an audit of the vessels of Sulpicio Lines to check on their seaworthiness.

The Board of Marine Inquiry has also been convened to conduct an investigation into the incident involving the Princess of the Stars, which sailed from the Port of Manila bound for Cebu and capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon at the height of typhoon “Frank.” More than 800 passengers and crew remained missing.