MV Princess of the Orient

The MV Princess of the Orient was a passenger ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines that sank off Fortune Island, near the provinces of Cavite and Batangas in the island of Luzon, The Philippines on September 18, 1998. The ship was originally built in Japan as Sunflower 11 in 1974 where she served as a cruise ferry before being sold to Sulpicio Lines in 1993.[1]

Princess of the Orient as Sunflower 11.

Design

The ferry was built in 1974 as part of the fleet of the Nihon Kosoku Ferry Co., Ltd. in Japan as the Sun Flower 11. She measured 13,935 gross tons[2][3] and was 195.7 meters long. She had a full capacity of 3,995 passengers and crew. She was eventually sold to Sulpicio Lines in 1993, where she was refitted by adding a front cargo ramp and extending some of the decks.

At the time, she was the only passenger ferry equipped with automatic stabilizers, which had failed under Sulpicio due to a fire during drydock maintenance. Because of her sheer size, length, and beauty, she became the flagship of the whole Sulpicio Lines fleet. Prior to her sinking, she listed to her port side, a sign which was inconsequential until 5 years later.[4]

Sinking

On September 18, 1998 around almost 10 PM, the Princess of the Orient sailed from Manila to Cebu City during the onslaught of typhoon Vicki. Two hours after leaving Manila harbor, the ferry suddenly tilted to its port side and was unable to recover. The ship foundered at 12:55 a.m. near Fortune Island and sank. Of the 388 passengers on board, 150 were killed. Either being trapped inside the ferry or being swept away by the waves, which they eventually drowned. The remaining survivors were floating at sea for more than 12 hours before rescuers were able to reach them.[5]

Wreck

The wreck is resting on her Port side at 122 meters (400 ft) below sea level near Fortune Island.[6] In the early 2000s, John Bennett and Ron Loos made the first scuba dives to the wreck site. It appeared probable that the cause of the sinking was due to the cargo on the ship not being lashed properly. The rough seas from Typhoon Vicki caused the cargo of the ship to shift, thus causing the ship to tilt to one side, resulting in the sinking.[7]

In 2018, a mixed gas 5-man international rebreather team captured images of the wreck and explored it, at depths up to 128m.[8]

See also

Notes and references
  1. Casualties | 10/12/19 (2019-12-10). "Princess of the Orient: Erroneous maneuvering leads to deadly sinking". SAFETY4SEA. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  2. Sulpicio Lines, Inc. v. Napoleone Sesanta et al., G.R. No. 172682, p. 9. Republic of the Philippines Supreme Court, July 27, 2016.
  3. Her gross tonnage when measured for the International Maritime Organization was 13,614. Vessel details for Princess of the Orient, IMO 7373561.
  4. Casualties | 10/12/19 (2019-12-10). "Princess of the Orient: Erroneous maneuvering leads to deadly sinking". SAFETY4SEA. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  5. "Strings of Maritime Tragedies"
  6. Stieglitz, Guy (September 2003). "25 minutes at 122m". Sport Diver Magazine (UK).
  7. Casualties | 10/12/19 (2019-12-10). "Princess of the Orient: Erroneous maneuvering leads to deadly sinking". SAFETY4SEA. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  8. Casualties | 10/12/19 (2019-12-10). "Princess of the Orient: Erroneous maneuvering leads to deadly sinking". SAFETY4SEA. Retrieved 2021-01-22.

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