Zamboanga City, March 30 — The death toll from a fire aboard the Philippine passenger ferry MV Lady Mary Joy 3 has risen to 35 after additional bodies were recovered, authorities said, in one of the deadliest maritime disasters the country has seen in recent years. The vessel caught fire late on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, while traveling overnight from Zamboanga City to Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, in the southern Philippines.
The fire broke out in an air-conditioned cabin as the ferry was near Basilan province, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. The ferry was carrying about 250 passengers and crew, though the exact manifest remains under verification because some passengers were not listed.
The manifest listed 205 passengers and 35 crew, and the Coast Guard has said the actual number of passengers may be higher, including children who were not listed.
A journey home for Eid
The passengers were mostly Muslims traveling to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, and mostly from Zamboanga City and Jolo. Many were low-income travelers for whom the ferry is the ordinary way home across the archipelago. The ferry left Zamboanga City at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday and was scheduled to arrive in Jolo at about 4 a.m. on Thursday.
The fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. local time, about 2 nautical miles off the coast of Basilan, and was discovered by a crew member. Many victims drowned after jumping into the sea, while others died from burns or smoke inhalation.
Many passengers were trapped inside the air-conditioned cabin on the second deck. Some who jumped overboard were rescued by fishing boats and other vessels.
Rescue and recovery
The Philippine Coast Guard dispatched vessels and helicopters to rescue survivors, and the fire was declared out by Thursday morning. The ferry was towed to a shallow area near Basilan to prevent it from sinking completely, and it partially sank after the fire was extinguished. Divers have been deployed to search for bodies inside the sunken ferry, which is lying in about 20 meters of water.
Survivors were taken to hospitals in Basilan and Zamboanga City. The Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police, and local government units of Basilan and Zamboanga City conducted search, rescue, and recovery operations.
The Philippine Red Cross has provided assistance to survivors, and the Coast Guard has set up a command center in Basilan. The Coast Guard has appealed to the public for information about missing persons, and the ferry’s owner has set up a hotline for families. The government has declared a state of calamity in Basilan and Zamboanga City, promised assistance and compensation to victims’ families, declared a day of mourning, and ordered the Philippine flag flown at half-staff.
Investigations and a safety reckoning
The Philippine Coast Guard has ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire and has said it may have been caused by an electrical fault. The investigation is ongoing, and arson has not been ruled out. The ship’s captain and crew are expected to face questioning; the captain has been relieved of his duties pending investigation and will face charges if found negligent.
The Coast Guard has said the ferry’s crew failed to follow emergency procedures and that the captain has been criticized for not ordering an evacuation sooner. The ferry’s firefighting equipment was inadequate.
The Maritime Industry Authority has suspended the ferry’s safety certificate pending investigation. The Coast Guard has ordered all ferries to undergo safety inspections, ordered a review of all ferry safety certificates, and said it will conduct fire drills on all ferries. The government has promised to review maritime safety regulations and to bring those responsible to justice.
The ferry’s owner, Aleson Shipping Lines, has pledged to cooperate with authorities and assist victims’ families, and has apologized to the victims’ families. The Lady Mary Joy 3 was a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry that had been in service for years on the Zamboanga–Jolo route.
It was built in 1995, had a capacity of 430 passengers, and was insured. The incident has renewed calls for stricter enforcement of safety standards on ferries and for better training of ferry crews, and has raised questions about the safety of overnight ferries. The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, relies heavily on ferries for inter-island transport, and maritime accidents are common due to frequent storms, poor maintenance, and lax enforcement of safety regulations.
The country’s maritime record includes the December 1987 collision of the ferry MV Doña Paz with an oil tanker, which killed more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster; the June 2008 capsizing of the ferry MV Princess of the Stars during Typhoon Fengshen, which killed more than 800 people; and a 2013 collision between the ferry MV St. Thomas Aquinas and the cargo ship Sulpicio Express Siete near Cebu, which killed more than 100 people.
The death toll from the Lady Mary Joy 3 may rise further
