Ferry with 682 on board sinks after collision off Cebu

I appreciate what your saying. But lessons need to be learned. Yes, Filipinos may not be able to travel but isnt that better than travelling and ending up in the briney?

Perhaps the way to go is to, after thorough investigation, suspend their license pending rectification or improving procedures etc etc.

Bringing in extrnal operaters might be a short sharp shock to the existing operators.

I agree that lessons need to be learned but this country's domestic shipping industry has an inglorious history of not doing so. Lessons weren't learned following the Dona Paz collision where well over 1000 people were killed and lessons weren't learned after the Princess of the Stars sank. Both those ships were owned by Sulpicio whose operators licence Marina revoked following the sinking of the Princess of the Stars but rather too quickly re-instated

Marina doesn't enforce existing regulations, bringing in new ones will simply be "window dressing".

External operators? From where? That would likely require a change in the Constitution - and certainly the Negative List - as ownership of shipping companies is not open to foreign operators. It won't happen and certainly not during this Presidency even though Aquino is in favour of that. Given the Pork Barrel scandal, I rather think relations between the Presidency and the legislature is going to be rather rocky and he may not be able to get much more of his programme enacted.

I think your last sentence hits the nail on the head - for the foreseable future, there will be only one issue in Philippines politics.

The Special Marine Board of Inquiry has now issued its shopping list of recommendations which, according to today's SunStar, are as follows:
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• Mandatory installation of the Automatic Identification System to all vessels of 35 GRT and above
• The Traffic Separation Scheme to be marked with buoys
• The provision of a Central Communication Centre to be manned either by Cebu Port Authority or Coastguard personnel to record all communications from all vessels
• Require the ship's captain or the duty officer to handle radio equipment during navigation
• Require all 2Go and PSACC masters of vessel and crew to undergo trainings, especially in collision regulations
• The establishment of a Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS) that will monitor ships
• Strict implementation of pilot services at Cebu ports
• Turning over Lawis Ledge to the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard Station Cebu
• The National Telecommunications Commission to prevent illegal radio operations that jam maritime communications (eg VHF Channel 16)

However, this is the Philippines - where it's more fun - so only three of the above stand much hope of actually happening.

Nice summary.

as many as three?

At the outside, yes, only three -

• Require the ship's captain or the duty officer to handle radio equipment during navigation
• Require all 2Go and PSACC masters of vessel and crew to undergo trainings, especially in collision regulations
• Turning over Lawis Ledge to the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard Station Cebu

The first should already be standard operating procedure and was clearly used in this case. I do have my doubts over the second though and the third is pretty much meaningless.

Conspicuous by their absence:
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• Safety briefings for all passengers prior to ferries leaving harbour
• Fire-fighting and lifeboat drills to be held whilst on passage at least once per week by all ships
• Man Overboard drills to be held whilst on passage at least once per month by all ships

We have a safety briefing for the crossing to Liverpool (3 hours) but we are not asked to wear life jackets during the journey.

I would not willingly travel on a ferry whose staff expected me to wear a life jacket for the entire trip - would you?!

If I was in the Philippines I might. But then I am now reticent to use the ferry in the Philippines after what you guys have posted over the last 6 months.

On helicopters, flying to rigs in the UK and other contries, it is mandatory.

How terribly inconvenient that Deck Department should hold a Boat Drill during the Captain's Cocktail Party! What passengers don't realise, of course, is that sometimes these drills are deliberately timed - such as if the party is for boorish first class passengers! Helps to keep the Captain's bar bill down too.

As a newly-qualified former cadet, I joined Himalaya as Fourth Officer on a mainline voyage from Southampton to the far east. Our first boat drill of the trip took place on a rather cold and windy morning in the Bay of Biscay. One of the female passengers assigned to my boat turned-up carrying her life jacket by the shoulder loop whilst all the other passengers were wearing theirs. I asked her to put on her life jacket to which she indignantly replied "listen dear, I only wear silk and never, ever anything second hand and this is hardly new, is it?". I replied "the Company and the Board of Trade require you to wear your life jacket for all boat drills and when otherwise instructed to do so by a member of the ship's crew. Would a fifty pound fine change your mind?". She rather quickly donned her life jacket assisted by her husband who silently mouthed "thank you" to me! A couple of weeks later, that same passenger awoke from her afternoon siesta to find the ship stopped in the water and saw a fully-crewed lifeboat being lowered past her cabin window. She ran up to the Boat Deck - wearing her life jacket - shouting "Are you leaving without me?" We were in the middle of a man overboard exercise!

Not the Philippines, but analogous.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ollowing-Papua-New-Guinea-ferry-disaster.html

I have worked in PNG and I have crossed tracks with Peter Sharp, who at one point was bringing Philippines ferries into Papua New Guinea. I had a small hand in putting a stop to that, and I'm not his favourite chap.

This probably tells you all you need to know about Peter Sharp:

http://pngexposed.files.wordpress.c...71373840_1390635170_32141613_1334556150_n.jpg

Here's a very detailed and thorough Commission of Inquiry Report into the capsizing and sinking of the Rabaul Queen owned and operated by Sharp.

Thank you very much; I had missed that.

Interesting to note that although that marine accident took place in the back and beyond, the Inquiry was before a Judge and with lawyers acting for the Inquiry who questioned the witnesses. Reason being, of course, PNG is a Commonwealth country with close links to Australia.