The RORO passenger ferry MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sank near Basilan province in the southern Philippines, drowning 51 people while 27 remain missing. Around 316 people were rescued.
The cause of the incident which happened on January 26, 2026, is stated as overloading.
The triple-decker vessel went down on the route where 31 people died in a 2023 fire onboard another ferry, which was also owned by Aleson Shipping Lines.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez talked of several safety violations while announcing charges against the company, stating that vehicles were not weighed before they were loaded onto the ferry.
Officials from the Coast Guard, the Transportation Department and the Maritime Authority of the Philippines conducted a press briefing about the incident, revealing key findings from the investigation.
They unanimously agreed that trucks and motorcycles did not pass through the weighing station. They highlighted that cargo might have shifted inside the vessel.
Lopez added that there are high chances that most ferries in the island nation are sailing like this.
Reiniel Pascual, an investigator for the country’s maritime authority, confirmed passengers had received no
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