More than giving much attention to the already media hyped 100th year anniversary of Titanic‘s sinking I’d rather look into something more important. While it may not be as important as having all our navy ships deployed to the disputed waters of Scarborough Shoal, known in Filipino as Panatag Shoal (I’d say quite a misnomer), it is important for any country, especially one surrounded with waters to have sound maritime practices with well regulated industries and implemented laws.
With Titanic the movie back on the big screen and in 3D this time, for sure a younger generation of Filipinos will again fall in love with the story of Jack and Rose, I wouldn’t even be surprised if it goes viral or trending in the social media space.
I was in high school when the movie called Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet came out. It was a really simple story told in epic proportions with a simple universal theme that tapped into something common in people – the loss of life of a loved one. Quite the child I was I thought it was the greatest tragedy at sea.
Much to my surprise it was not, and the great tragedy I was referring to happened here, closer to home and in a more recent time. Maybe I was just to young too remember then the grievance, outrage and mourning it caused. Sure we all know Titanic, but how many of us know about MV Doña Paz?
Yes, let me paint that picture clearly:
It may be known as Asia’s Titanic but for most of the victims, survivors and their families, it was simply a trip to take to make it home in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, 4,375 people on board did not make it home.
The vessel with a capacity of 1,500 people was overloaded. The actual numbers remained in debate for the days and even years after the tragedy. Sulpicio Lines, Inc., the ship’s owner released a manifest that showed that there were 1,583 passengers on board and 58 crew while survivors claimed an estimate of 3,000-4,000 passengers, with 2000+ not recorded. In 1999, a Philippine Supreme Court decision acknowledged that MV Doña Paz had carried over 4,000 passengers.
On December 20, 1987 at 2230H PST the ill-fated ship was en route to Catbalogan, Samar when it collided with MT Vector, an oil tanker chartered by Caltex Philippines (now Chevron) in Tablas Strait. The tanker was carrying 8,800 barrels of gasoline and other petroleum products. MV Doña Paz immediately caught fire upon collision and some survivors recount that even the sea was in flames.
There were no lifeboats and life jackets had been locked out. None of the crew were executing evacuation plans and the ship’s power had gone out. People were forced to jump off the shark infested waters of Tablas Strait.
Reports said that it took 8 hours before authorities learned of the accident and another 8 hours for them to reach the area and begin search and rescue. MV Doña Paz sank within 2 hours after the crash and MT Vector within 4.
Time Magazine dubbed it as the deadliest peace–time maritime disaster of the 20th century and the Philippines earned a citation in the Guinness Book of World Records:
The MV Doña Paz was a Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after colliding with the MT Vector on December 20, 1987. With a death toll of at most 4,375 people, the collision resulted in the deadliest ferry disaster in history and is widely cited as the worst ever peace-time maritime disaster.
International leaders expressed their condolences and there were inquiries to give justice to the victims. It was said that when the collision occurred, only one apprentice was monitoring the ship’s bridge. However, Sulpicio Lines was eventually cleared of all liabilities and so was Caltex who chartered MT Vector.
The 1999 Supreme Court Ruling put all the responsibility of indemnification solely to the owners of Vector as it operated “without a license, lookout or properly qualified master.” The high court’s order also extend the indemnification of victims not listed in the official manifest.
Such a loss to suffer at a time when families should be together, sadly we – together with the authorities have not learned from the fateful experience of MV Doña Paz. It was not the last alarming maritime tragedy to happen in this archipelago, here are a few notable ones:
- Barely a year after MV Dona Paz, it’s sister ship MV Doña Marilyn sank while en route to Tacloban City. It was caught on sea by a tropical depression and capsized on October 24, 1988 causing about 300 fatalities.
- MV Princess of the Orient sank near Fortune Island in Batangas in 1998. It was about 2200H when the ship was reported to have lost control and capsized at 0050H on September 19th. The reason for sinking remains unknown but it was said that the cargo tilted which caused the ship to be unstable.
- In April 2000, vessel Anahanda off the coast of Jolo sank leaving behind 150 casualties.
- On 27 February 2004, we again woke up to the news of another maritime incident: an explosion on SuperFerry 14. It was later discovered that it was a terrorist act. Of the 744 people on board, 116 were reported killed.
- The cargo ship MT Solar 1 sank off the coast of Guimaras back in August 2006. The tanker had 2 million liters of bunker fuel on board. About 500,000 liters of which poured into the Guimaras Strait. Bad weather, overloading and human error were all said to have caused the sinking of the vessel and the massive oil spill considered as the worst in the country’s history.
- 21 years after MV Doña Paz, the Philippines again became the center of media attention due to another maritime tragedy: MV Princess of the Stars, Sulpicio Lines’ largest passenger vessel at the time, capsized off the coast of Romblon due to typhoon Frank on 21 June 2008 claiming nearly 800 lives. Due to weather conditions, rescuers were able to reach the area 24 hours after the ship lost radio contact.
- On a Sunday morning back in 06 September 2009, SuperFerry 9 sank off the coast of the Zamboanga Peninsula leaving 10 fatalities. The cause have been attributed to generator problems.
- A twin Christmas holiday tragedy is the sinking of MV Catalyn B after it collided with fishing vessel Anatalia near the coast of Limbones Island in Cavite on 24 December and MV Baleno 9 which sank off the coast of Mindoro on the evening of 26 December 2009.
Its just disheartening to see that we are a country surrounded by waters yet we do not have enough protocol and procedures to protect lives and property when they set sail, and even if do then what we lack is the will to implement them. We live and make a living from our waters I certainly hope that we all can work on something to make life safer in the open seas.
ADDENDUM: I just came across this site http://www.donapaz.com/ Hope it can be completed and receive support.
Beth Vargas' Blog 