'Overloading' may have led to deadly Philippine ferry sinking

Rescuers assisting survivors of the sunken MV Trisha Kerstin 3 at a port in Isabela, Basilan province on January 26, 2026. [AFP]

Philippine authorities said Wednesday that a ferry may have been overloaded when it sank in the country's south last month, killing dozens of people who received no warning from the ship's crew.

The death toll has risen steadily since the Trisha Kerstin 3 went down off the coast of southwestern Mindanao on January 26, with the body of a woman pulled from the wreckage by divers Wednesday morning bringing the tally to 52.

The triple-decker vessel capsized on nearly the same route where 31 people were killed in a 2023 fire aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry. Locally based Aleson Shipping Lines owned both ships.

On Wednesday, transportation secretary Giovanni Lopez cited multiple safety violations in announcing administrative charges against the company, including the fact that vehicles boarding the ferry were never weighed as required by law.

"One of the possible causes of the sinking of the ship was the possibility of overcapacity and overloading," Lopez told a news briefing.

"The investigation found that rolling cargo like trucks and motorcycles didn't pass through the weighing station," he said.

"If there was overloading or overcapacity, it's possible cargo shifted ... inside the vessel," Lopez said, adding it was "highly probable" other ships in the archipelago nation were sailing overweight.

Reiniel Pascual, an investigator for the country's maritime authority, separately confirmed passengers had received no instructions from the crew as the ship began to list.

"Based on the statements of the crew ... there was no alarm or public address that took place during the emergency prior to the sinking and capsizing of the ship," he said.

While at least 368 people were on board at the time of the sinking, a precise tally may never be known as a mismatch between the ferry's manifest and actual passenger numbers became apparent as more bodies were discovered.

Aquino Sajili, an attorney who survived the sinking, told AFP he expected more bodies to be found by divers now searching the ship, which lies an estimated 76 metres (250 feet) deep.

The incident has also raised corruption concerns, Lopez said, with members of the coast guard and the country's maritime authority tasked with permitting ships to leave port also under investigation.

The Philippines has a long history of disasters involving the inter-island ferries that ply its seas. Many people rely on cheap and poorly regulated boats and ships for transport between the country's more than 7,000 islands.

Neil Baird, publisher of a worldwide ferry safety database, told AFP on Wednesday that while the Philippines had made huge strides in the past 10 to 15 years, Aleson Shipping's record was "shocking".

"Ninety-nine percent of so-called accidents are actually human error," the Baird Maritime founder said. "Obviously, this case is negligence."

"They should never be allowed back into business," Baird added, noting the recent disclosure of more than 30 maritime "incidents" involving the company since 2019.

Sajili, who was in Manila on Wednesday with other survivors to press for government action, said that would be the only just outcome.

"To be frank with you, the only time I think we can say we have achieved justice is ... (with the) total cancellation of the licence of Aleson Shipping Lines," he said.

Calls to the company were unreturned.