"Princess of the Stars" is owned by Sulpicio Lines that capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen on June 21, 2008.
The MV Princess of the Stars, flagship of the Sulpicio Lines fleet, left the port of Manila on June 21, 2008 on its way to Cebu City. The number of passengers is variously reported between 700 and 800.
The ferry sent a distress signal late on June 21 when its engines stalled in rough seas near Sibuyan Island. San Fernando mayor Nanette Tansingco sent a speedboat and confirmed that the ferry had a hole in the hull, was partially submerged and that several bodies had been found nearby.
As of June 23, four bodies were recovered by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy. According to the Coast Guard, the ferry's manifest recorded 702 passengers including 50 children as well as 100 crew. The civil defense office said the ship carried 626 passengers and 121 crew members. Three Navy vessels were dispatched but one had to abort its mission due to "gigantic waves, pounding rain, and gusty winds," said Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Philippine Navy.
A rescue ship reached the MV Princess of the Stars, more than 24 hours after it lost radio contact at 12:30 PST (04:30 GMT) on Saturday. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Senior Grade Arman Balilo, however, lamented: "They haven't seen anyone. They're scouring the area. They're studying the direction of the waves to determine where survivors may have drifted."
Xinhua News Agency reported that 4 survivors witnessed "that the captain of the ship ordered the abandoning of the ship at noon Saturday, but many passengers did not even wear life vests when the ship capsized." Four survivors told GMA News that "the ship did not malfunction, but only slowed down its speed as it encountered big waves off the coast of Romblon." One saw many people jump, but "the waves were so big and the rains so strong that few of them could have possibly survived; the crew were so busy saving themselves that they did not care to help the passengers to wear safety vests, and that some of the passengers passed out while children and the elderly failed to wear life vests because they could no longer move when the ship was turning upside down."
Tansingco confirmed that 4 aboard died and hundreds of passengers were still missing. Dozens of people trooped to the offices of owner Sulpicio Lines in Cebu and Manila North Harbor. The victims' families accused Sulpicio Lines and the Philippine Coast Guard of allowing the ship to set sail despite the bad weather. They further blamed Sulpicio for not personally informing them about the tragedy, the details of the accident, and the condition of the ship plus its passengers. Sulpicio Lines's counsel stated that "the ship never received advice from Coast Guard, while Metro Manila was still under public storm signal No. 1 when the ship left the port." Furthermore, BBC quoted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as saying, "Why did you allow it to sail and why was there no ample warning? I want answers."
Sulpicio admitted that 860 were on board as the ferry capsized: "There were 751 manifested passengers and 111 crew members on board the capsized vessel." The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) suspended all sea travel operations of the Sulpicio. Sulpicio lines released the names of 32 survivors with the complete passenger manifest and crew list uploaded on their website,
www.sulpiciolines.com-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From various sources:Local dailys, Yahoo News.com, Reuters, ABS-CBN news, Philippine Coast Guard bulletin
Subject: Tropical Storm Fengshen and the Princess of the Stars tragedy 
Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:19 pm
