The Sinking Of Superferry 9
Nearly 100 Passengers Missing
By Mike Groves
Between the hours of 3:30 am to 4 am on Sunday September 6th, Coast Guard Officer’s received a distress call from the Iloilo-bound Super Ferry9’s Captain, Captain Jose Yap stating that his ship was about to capsize. The 7,268 tonne Super Ferry 9’s originally set off from General Santos City on the southern island of Mindanao, ultimately heading for the central city of Iloilo.
The Super Ferry 9 had the capacity to carry more than 1,100 persons however at the time of the sinking it only held a 'recorded' 968 persons on board. However it is well known that operators in this part of the world have a notorious reputation for gross overloading and poor maintenance, with operators in the Philippines being particularly prevalent to overloading their vessels.
It is not uncommon for the Captain and/or some of the crew to sell contraband tickets on each and every voyage, whether this occurred here we do not know and certainly survivors have not suggested that the ship was vastly overloaded. The total recorded number of souls on board was broken down as follows - 847 passengers, 107 crew members and seven sea marshals, with one of the sea marshals, SPO3 Loreto Justo later being awarded a Medal for Heroism.
Loreto Justo citation read ‘heroic action and stability under pressure when he skillfully responded to the situation by leading passengers of the sinking ship to safety’
By 6:30 a.m. the ferry had already tilted 50 degrees, which is certainly an unrecoverable position in most cases, unless salvage crews are on site post haste. The Super Ferry9 was eventually lost at around 9:10 am on Sunday morning in the coastal waters of Barangay Panabutan between the municipalities of Sirawai and Sibuco, however according to Coast Guard reports she went down off Banga Point in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte while others quote she went down six nautical miles off the west coast of Zamboanga peninsula on Mindanao island. Zamboanga Peninsula is a peninsula region in the Philippines.
There appears to be some confusion regarding her exact resting place, give or take a nautical mile or two? One other matter that appears confusing is the total number of fatalities from this tragic incident and from yet another incident concerning ferry's traversing between the numerous islands of the Philippines.
Most media reports now put the figure at ten deaths and four injuries however NDCC [National Disaster Coordinating Council] headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo initially quoted at least 88 souls were still missing according to Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez? He then went on to praise the quick response of the Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard in saving the lives of the passengers. With all the military units engaged in the search and with the added support of many fishing boats that also made the scene according the Coast Guard.
Studying the pictures of the Super Ferry 9 before she sank and where she would eventually settle at a depth of about 5000 meters, you can easily see the that the forward crane [light grey structure on ships port - left - side] on this vessel appears to be an addition to the vessels original super structure?
The ferry was a roll-on roll-off (RORO) car and passenger ferry and such ship designs are notoriously unstable at the best of times, so was the additional tonnage catered for in her overall stability calculations - loaded or when empty?
One independent account stated that originally there would have been a loading ramp on the forward starboard bow and which was apparently welded shut? Having studied pictures of this vessel and the narrowness of her bow [front] I feel this is incorrect.
The stern [rear] is clearly much wider and thus would be more accommodating for vehicles of various sizes to drive into the ships hold from the dock, and which is the norm [stern doors] for these smaller types of (RORO) vessels.
I was also able to locate another blog entry where the author stated he had located through an Internet blog site concerning this specific ship regarding a previous merger, adding that all these modifications were made prior to the merger. Are they [the company allegedly making the quote] already in the process of trying to distance themselves from any possible legal redress? I have been unable to view this blog site for myself at this juncture.
To me the Super Ferry 9 appears to be a vessel which would in all probability use stern [rear] doors for loading, looking at the historical pictures available however, with the possibility that the crane appears relatively alien to the normal superstructure of such a vessel, was it added to allow for maximum loading on the upper decks as well?
One can see from the picture (next page) that large heavy goods vehicles or cargo containers are now collapsed against one another towards the start board [right] side. Adding additional weight to the super structure would have made the Super Ferry 9 susceptible to a host of hazards, not least poor handling or otherwise moving her original CG [Center of Gravity].
Possibly the vessel may have tilted over through rushed loading techniques or otherwise sailing with an insecure load? Were these trucks and other vehicles within the ships hold fully lashed down prior to sailing? At her current depth I imagine we will never be able to examine the hold to locate if suitable lashings or chains were used correctly.
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The Sinking Of Superferry 9
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
September 22, 2009
