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Philippines ferry disaster death toll rises to 52; shipping firm faces licence cancellation
Officials said shipping company allowed overloading of passengers. Survivors earlier complained crewmembers were the first to board lifeboats, instead of assisting passengers.
- PUBLISHED: Wed 11 Feb 2026, 11:43 AM
The death toll in the maritime mishap off the southern tip of the Philippines has climbed to 52, forcing government authorities to impose stiffer sanctions against the shipping company that owned the ill-fated ferry boat.
Maritime passenger vessel MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sank off Basilan on January 26, resulting in a substantial number of casualties, with 316 survivors. The body of a woman was pulled from the wreckage by divers on Wednesday morning, February 11, bringing the number of casualties to 52.
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The Philippine Department of Transportation (DoTR) has ordered the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to file charges against Aleson Shipping Lines, operator of MV Trisha Kerstin 3, and to look into the possibility of revoking its licenses.
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Aleson’s fleet of 36 vessels was earlier ordered grounded a day after the mishap, causing a severe transportation crisis in the Basilan-Sulu-Tawi Tawi archipelago of Muslim Mindanao.
DoTR pointed out the shipping company is deficient in safety procedures and allowed overloading of passengers in its old and ill-maintained boat. Survivors earlier complained that the boat was decrepit and it had no adequate life vests. They added that crewmembers were the first to board Trisha Kerstin 3’s lifeboats instead of assisting passengers.
On Wednesday, acting DOTr Secretary (minister) Giovanni Lopez also announced the relief of six Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel and eight Marina officials to allow an impartial investigation.
The officers were in charge of checking the passenger manifest and the boat’s condition before leaving port.
Lopez emphasized that "maritime safety is not optional,” and vowed a complete investigation.
Previous tragedies
MV Trisha Kerstin 3 capsized on the same route where Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry suffered a fire in 2023 that in turn killed 31 passengers. Aleson Shipping also owned Lady Mary Joy 3.
PCG technical divers continue their search and recovery of a yet undetermined number of victims.
An archipelagic country, the Philippines relies on maritime ferries that are often put back into service after growing old in Japan or Korea.
The worst maritime disaster happened in 1987 when passenger ferry MV Doña Paz collided with oil tanker MT Vector off the coast of Manila killing more than 4,000 victims.