The official death toll stands at four, but Typhoon Nina is feared to have claimed many more lives. The typhoon, which struck on Christmas Day, grounded several vessels as it made landfall in Batangas, and sank the roll-on, roll-off ferry Starlite Atlantic.
As of yesterday, 18 crewmembers of the RoRo vessel remained missing. A female crew was earlier confirmed to have died after the ferry sank on Dec. 26 between Puerto Galera and Maricaban Island in Mindoro. A Special Board of Marine Inquiry has been formed by the Philippine Coast Guard to determine the cause of the sinking, which the owner Starlite Ferries attributed to “gale-force winds and huge waves” as Nina made landfall in Batangas. Starlite said the ferry did not carry passengers and cargo at the time of the sinking.
The accident should remind authorities about the enforcement of safety rules in maritime transportation. President Duterte has made public safety among his priorities, and this should include safe transportation whether by land, sea or air. His administration is expected to be stricter in enforcing safety regulations and do better in keeping passengers safe especially at sea.
The monsoons and typhoons are still half a year away, but there can be off-season typhoons before the start of summer. And even without weather disturbances, maritime disasters have occurred in the past because crewmembers were either drunk or lacked training, vessels were old and poorly maintained, or cargo was wrongly stowed. There is also the continuing threat of another terrorist attack, like the Abu Sayyaf’s bombing of the SuperFerry 14 near the mouth of Manila Bay that left over 100 people dead.
Ensuring the safety of maritime transportation is a sustained effort. The sinking of the Starlite Atlantic should serve as a warning that every effort must be made to ensure compliance with safety standards by shipping operators. Disasters can strike, even on Christmas Day.