Doña Paz (ship)
 The Doña Paz 1984 in Tacloban City , Philippines
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The Filipino ferry Doña Paz was a ferry operated by the Sulpicio Lines ferry company . Her collision with a tanker on December 20, 1987 killed over 4,300 people. It is the worst shipping accident in peacetime.
history
The ship was built in 1962/63 as hull number 118 at the Onomichi Zosen shipyard in Onomichi. The new building was launched on April 25, 1963 as Himeyuri Maru . In July 1963, the ship, which cost around US $ 1.5 million, was completed and delivered to the client, the shipping company Ryukyu Kaiun, and registered in Naha , Japan. The Himeyuri Maru started its service between Naha on the island of Okinawa and Kagoshima on July 10th . In addition to around 600 adult passengers, the combined ship was also able to transport dry and refrigerated cargo. From 1967 the ship served on the line between Naha and Tokyo. In 1975 the Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines acquired the ship and renamed it Don Sulpicio . After a conversion that increased the passenger capacity to 1424 people, the ship began its new service between Manila and Cebu. On June 5, 1979, on a voyage from Manila to Cebu with 1,164 people on board, a fire broke out in the hold. Don Sulpicio , sailing near land , was put on the beach and all the people on board were rescued. The ship was declared a total constructive loss and was later bought back from the insurers by Sulpicio Lines. After the repair and a renewed conversion, the ship was put back into service in 1981 as Doña Paz .
Collision and loss in 1987
The Doña Paz collided on the way from Leyte to Manila near Mindoro in the Strait of Tablas with the small tanker Vector , which was owned by Caltex Philippines and was carrying a cargo of 1,130 tons of gasoline, diesel and petroleum. There was an explosion and a subsequent fire that spread quickly. The ferry sank within two hours and the tanker two hours later. Only 24 passengers from the Doña Paz and two crew members of the Vector could be saved by the Don Claudio . They had to swim under the flames while diving. None of the lifeboats could be launched.
The following official investigation came to a casualty of 4,317 passengers, 58 crew members of the Doña Paz and eleven crew members of the Vector . Officially, the ferry was allowed to carry a maximum of 1,518 people. The Doña Paz was not equipped with a radio. The boxes with life jackets on the ferry were locked. It was also found that the Vector's crew was not sufficiently qualified and that the tanker's approval had expired. It took eight hours for the authorities to find out about the accident and another eight hours for a search and rescue operation to start, which then proved to be in vain.
Web links
- Det Norske Veritas: Annex 1: Passenger Vessel Evacuation Descriptions (English, PDF 177 KiB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Der Spiegel, December 28, 1987: Disasters: Beer and Games , accessed July 9, 2012
- ↑ United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (Ed.): Ryukyu Islands Facts Book . San Francisco 1963, p. 14-1 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank: Caltex (Philippines), Inc. vs. Sulpicio Lines Inc.
- ↑ a b c Det Norske Veritas, 97-2053: Annex 1: Passenger Vessel Evacuation Descriptions. , accessed July 9, 2012 (PDF; 181 kB)