Maritime red flags
Five days after the passenger ferry MV June Aster caught fire off the coast of Coron, Palawan, claiming at least 76 lives, its captain finally emerged in public, ending speculations that he, too, had perished in the accident. Roel Sarmiento first appeared at the Palawan office of the ship’s operator, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc., before being brought by the company’s human resources manager to authorities, who had been looking for Sarmiento since the disaster on Sept. 9.
The tragedy that occurred under Sarmiento’s watch may turn out to be among the deadliest in recent years. According to survivors, a loud explosion was heard on the 53-meter MV June Aster before a fierce fire erupted that engulfed passengers in thick smoke and flames. The vessel was on its way to Coron from the Port of Manila with a manifest that listed 134 individuals onboard—117 passengers and 17 crew.
Forty-four people survived the tragedy, while recovery efforts are still ongoing for 12 people who remain missing. According to the Coron Emergency Operations Center, as of Monday night, only five of the 76 fatalities had been identified and claimed by their families.
Famous tourist destination
Coron, a famous tourist destination—two of the rescued individuals were Chilean nationals —has become a temporary resting ground for many of the victims, whose remains have been placed in one-meter deep graves until the painstaking process of DNA testing by forensic specialists can be completed.
Initial investigation by authorities quickly revealed irregularities in the ship’s manifest. Two people listed on the document said they had not boarded the vessel, causing the revision of the number of passengers onboard to 132.
Pinoy Workers party list Rep. Karl Legazpi was quick to wonder: “That discrepancy may ultimately have a simple explanation. But if there are names on the manifest of people who apparently did not board the vessel, how can we be sure that the names listed on the manifest are accurate?”
Legazpi has vowed to push for an inquiry at the House to answer such questions, which may indicate, yet again, laxity on the part of sea transport operators to adhere to maritime safety regulations, or gaps and inadequacies in the regulations themselves.
Disturbing behavior
The MV June Aster mishap comes just seven months after a similar tragedy raised the same serious issue. In January, the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sank off Basilan while en route from Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu, after being battered by heavy waves. The triple-decker ferry carried more than 340 passengers, with at least 66 dying and between 12 and 28 others going missing when the vessel went under, while 293 were rescued. Among the most immediate findings was that many passengers were not listed in the ship’s manifest.
Two sea calamities in a span of months exhibiting the same red flags should indeed prompt a thorough congressional inquiry into the state of maritime transport in the country. The disturbing behavior of MV June Aster’s captain adds to that urgency: The main person responsible for the safety and welfare of his passengers was nowhere to be found for days after the disaster.
What happened to his ship that caused the fire? What protocols did he implement, if any, to warn passengers and ensure their safe evacuation? When did he bail out? And why did he hide for days on end, when it was his primary duty to provide firsthand information about the incident to authorities, and to families desperate for news about their missing loved ones?
As it is, the cause of the deadly blaze remains unclear. According to survivors, “everything happened in seconds”—the explosion, followed by fire from the cargo hold, and the ensuing panic where many frantic passengers did not even have time to put on life jackets.
The ultimate test
The provincial board of Palawan, the province now bearing the immediate impact of the tragedy, has also called for a comprehensive inquiry. It has invited representatives from the Philippine Coast Guard, Maritime Industry Authority, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, the Coron local government, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and the ferry operator to help shed light on what happened aboard MV June Aster.
These inquiries may in the end determine that the country’s latest sea mishap could have been prevented, or its effects at least mitigated, with proper observance of safety protocols or regulations. But, as with far too many maritime disasters in the past that also triggered headline-hogging investigations but hardly improved the conditions of sea transport for millions of Filipinos, the ultimate test rests with accountability and reform.
Would erring operators, let alone negligent government agencies, be held to account? Will the pertinent laws be finally implemented to ensure that the people of an archipelago nation of some 7,641 islands may no longer fear taking to its seas and waters as a matter of life and death every time?
Protecting what protects us