List of maritime disasters in the Philippines

This is a list of notable maritime disasters in the Philippines. This includes both freshwater and seawater incidents. Events must include at least five deaths.

Before 2000

Maritime Vessel Shipping line Date Deaths Missing Survivors Remarks
SS Corregidor Compania Maritima 17 December 1941 900-1,200 Un­known 282 The ferry was sailing to the Visayas and was carrying around 1200-1500 passengers, mostly refugees fleeing the bombing of Manila by the Japanese during the Second World War, when it struck a mine off Corregidor Island and sank in five minutes.
Baby Princess Un­known 12 June 1970 22 Un­known 22 The fishing boat capsized in a violent storm 300 miles southwest of Manila. The dead were devoured by sharks.
Unnamed boat Un­known 29 August 1976 19 Un­known Un­known A boat capsized in the Davao River.
MV Don Juan Negros Navigation 22 April 1980 176 115 745 MV Don Juan was a luxury liner bound for Bacolod. At 10:30 p.m. (PST), it collided with an oil tanker, MT Tacloban, off Tablas Strait in Mindoro. 15 minutes later, the vessel sank to a depth of 1,800 feet. The vessel was carrying 1,004 passengers, but it was only cleared to carry 864 persons – including its crew.
BRP Datu Kalantiaw Philippine Navy 21 September 1981 79 0 18 The Cannon-class destroyer escort and flagship of the Navy ran aground off the coast of Calayan, Cagayan during Typhoon Rubing (Clara).
Coral Island Unknown 25 July 1982 21 unknown 74 The tourist ship caught fire off Manila Bay after an engine exploded on a trial run. The ship was only carrying crew members at the time.
MV Cassandra Un­known 21 November 1983 167 Un­known Un­known Capsized off the coast of Surigao del Norte after being battered by Typhoon Warling (International name: Orchid). Historically notable for the death of the Cassandra Martyrs of Charity.
MV Doña Josefina Un­known 24 April 1986 34 130+ 260 The inter-island ferry sank off the coast of Isabel, Leyte on its way from Cebu to Manila.

MV Doña Paz 		Sulpicio Lines 20 December 1987 4,341 Un­known 25 MV Doña Paz left from Tacloban City, Leyte, for the City of Manila, with a stopover at Catbalogan, Samar. At 10:30 p.m. (PST), the passenger vessel collided with a motor tanker, MT Vector, near Dumali Point between the provinces of Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro. The vessel's manifest only listed 1,493 passengers and a 53-member crew, but survivors claimed that the vessel was carrying more than 4,000 passengers. The incident was the worst peacetime disaster and the worst in the 20th century, and the vessel was even named the Asia's Titanic.
MT Vector Vector Shipping 11 0 2
MV Doña Marilyn Sulpicio Lines 24 October 1988 389 2 197 While sailing from Manila to Tacloban City, the vessel was caught up in Typhoon Unsang and sank. It was the sister ship of MV Doña Paz.
MB Jem II Un­known 3 January 1989 16 45 113 The motor boat left Looc, Romblon and headed for Malay, Aklan with 174 passengers on board, mostly students. As it only had a 31-passenger capacity, the overloaded boat sank off of Aguho Point, Tablas Island in strong waves.
Bocaue Pagoda tragedy Un­known 2 July 1993 226-279 Unknown Unknown The pagoda, which was used for the Bocaue River Festival in Bocaue, Bulacan was estimated to carrying 800 to 1000 devotees. At 8:15 p.m, the pagoda sank in the middle of the Bocaue River. According to witnesses many of the passengers moved to one side of the barge after a firecracker flew towards it. The concentrated weight of the people on board tilted the barge, causing the structure to collapse and sink. It is believed that some of the fatalities were electrocuted from the equipment on board.
MV Cebu City William Shipping Company 2 December 1994 73 41 525 Collided with Singaporean container vessel, MV Kota Suria, off Manila Bay. The container ship only had a dent in its bow. Sister ship to MV Don Juan.
MV Kota Suria Pacific Int’l Line Ltd. 0 0 Un­known
MV Viva Antipolo VII Viva Shipping Inc. 16 May 1995 62 10 142 Caught fire and sank within the vicinity of Dalahican Fish Port, Lucena.
MV Kimelody Cristy Moreta Shipping Lines 13 December 1995 24 13 100 At 2:00 a.m. (PST), caught fire and sank off Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas.
ML Gretchen I Noe and Clarita Quiamco 18 February 1996 51 Un­known 145 Sank after being battered by strong winds near Cadiz, Negros Occidental. The old wooden ferry, according to the investigation, was not seaworthy and was carrying more than its allowed capacity. It was also eight hours late to dock in the Port of Cadiz. The Philippine Coast Guard failed to respond to the incident since the ferry had no radio on board.

MV Princess of the Orient 		Sulpicio Lines 18 September 1998 70 80 355 The 13,935-ton, 195-metre (640 ft) long vessel sailed from Manila to Cebu during a typhoon and capsized at 12:55 p.m. (PST) near Fortune Island in Batangas.
Lumban float sinking Un­known 19 January 1999 13 Un­known Un­known During a fluvial procession in Lumban, Laguna, a float hit an electric cable which later fell, causing devotees aboard to get either electrocuted or drowned as they jumped into the river.
MV Asia South Korea Trans-Asia Shipping Lines 23 December 1999 58 0 699 The vessel was en route to Iloilo City from Cebu City when it hit rock formations off Bantayan Island. The collision created a hole in its hull causing its sinking.

2000-present

Maritime Vessel Shipping line Date Deaths Missing Survivors Remarks
M/V Our Lady of Mediatrix Un­known 25 February 2000 41 0 100+ A large incendiary bomb believed to have been planted by Moro separatists exploded aboard three buses on the ferry. as it crossed Panguil Bay to Ozamiz. The vessel did not sink and later returned to service following repairs.
ML Annahada Un­known 12 April 2000 69 100+ Un­known The unlicensed, overloaded wooden ferryboat heading for Tawi-Tawi and Malaysia capsized at sea after leaving the port of Jolo, Sulu.
MV Maria Carmela Montenegro Shipping Lines 11 April 2002 39 6 371 Fire broke out in the cargo hold of the vessel around 7:30 a.m. (PST). The vessel burned for three days until it sank in Pagbilao Island, Quezon.
MV San Nicolas San Nicholas Shipping Lines 25 May 2003 43 21 182 The collision happened at 11:45 a.m. (PST) near Limobones Point, Corregidor. MV San Nicholas was heading for Manila, while Superferry 12 was sailing for Cebu.
MV SuperFerry 12 Aboitiz 0 0 1,700 The ferry suffered minor damage, was repaired and returned into service. However, it later caught fire at Cebu in March 2006. but was repaired and continued in service until 2021.
MV SuperFerry 14 Aboitiz 27 February 2004 94 24 781 The ferry sailed out of Manila for Cagayan de Oro via Bacolod and Iloilo City with 899 recorded passengers and crew aboard. An hour after its 11 p.m. sailing, just off Corregidor Island, a television set containing a 3.6-kilogram (8-pound) TNT bomb had been placed on board in the lower, more crowded decks by a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group detonated. The explosion tore through the vessel, starting a fire that engulfed the ship, which eventually sank. It was the Philippines' deadliest terrorist attack and the world's deadliest terrorist attack at sea.

MV Princess of the Stars 		Sulpicio Lines 21 June 2008 437 605 32 MV Princess of the Stars capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Frank. The ferry left Manila en route to Cebu City and was permitted to sail because the vessel was large enough to stay afloat in the typhoon's periphery. However, Frank unexpectedly changed course, placing the ferry closer to the storm. According to survivors the ship ran into rough seas and capsized off the coast of Romblon.
MB Don Dexter Un­known 4 November 2008 42 10 105 Motor banca capsized near Macaraguit Island, Dimasalang, Masbate after its outrigger broke.
MB Maejan Un­known 14 December 2008 47 30 45 Motor banca capsized near the vicinity of Aparri, Cagayan after its outrigger broke. The boat was carrying passengers in excess of its allowed capacity from Calayan Island to Aparri, and bad weather conditions contributed to its capsizing.
SuperFerry 9 Aboitiz Transport System Corporation 6 September 2009 10 0 961 Inter-island ferry sank off the coast of the Zamboanga Peninsula.
MV Catalyn B San Nicolas Shipping Lines 24 December 2009 25 2 46 Wooden-hulled passenger vessel MV Catalyn B collided with FV Anatalia off the coast of Limbones Island in Maragondon, Cavite. The vessel was traveling from Manila to Tilik Port in Lubang, Occidental Mindoro when FV Anatalia crossed its path, causing it to collide with the fishing vessel and sink.
FV Anatalia Unknown 0 0 All crew survived The steel-hulled fishing vessel FV Anatalia was on its way back to the Navotas Fish Port Complex after a fishing expedition in the Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi and was entering Manila Bay when MV Catalyn B collided with the vessel's rear. Anatalia was damaged in the rear but remained afloat.
MV Baleno 9 Besta Shipping Lines 26 December 2009 6 54 72 The RORO vessel capsized in the vicinity of Verde Island, Batangas while it was en route from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro to Batangas City.
MV St. Thomas Aquinas 2Go 16 August 2013 114 23 750 MV St. Thomas Aquinas departed from Nasipit, Agusan del Norte heading for Cebu City. At approximately 9:00 p.m. (PST), it was approaching its destination via the Cebu Strait when it collided with MV Sulpicio Express Siete, a cargo ship owned by the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation that was leaving port, approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Talisay, Cebu. The vessel immediately began to take on water, prompting the captain to order the ship abandoned. The crew hurriedly handed out life jackets as hundreds of passengers jumped overboard. Within 30 minutes, the ship had sunk. At the time of the collision, St. Thomas Aquinas was carrying 715 passengers (58 were infants) and 116 crew members. Many passengers were asleep at the time or otherwise had trouble finding their way to the deck in the dark.
MV Sulpicio Express Siete Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation 0 0 36 Did not sink.
MB Kim Nirvana-B Un­known 2 July 2015 62 0 158 The sinking occurred en route from Ormoc to Pilar, Cebu in Ponson Island, among the Camotes Islands. According to initial reports, the motor banca capsized due to overload with passengers and cargo and that the boat took a sharp turn. The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) later stated that the boat capsized not because of overloading, but "the negligent operations of the captain". Authorities placed the final count of death toll to 62, while 158 survived.
MB Chi-chi Un­known 3 August 2019 11 1 37 Capsized due to squalls between Iloilo Strait and Guimaras Strait intensified by tropical monsoon winds and rains. The Chi-Chi and Keziah collided and capsized after they were hit by a squall, while the third Jenny Vince figured in a separate accident and also capsized.
MB Jenny Vince Un­known 20 2 22
MB Keziah 2 Un­known 0 0 5
FV Liberty 5 Irma Fishing and Trading Inc. 27 June 2020 14 0 0 The fishing vessel was on its way to the Navotas Fish Port in Metro Manila from a fishing expedition in Mapun, Tawi-Tawi when it collided with the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier MV Vienna Wood N in the vicinity of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. Inclement weather may have contributed to the collision of the two vessels. None of the 14 individuals onboard the fishing vessel were found.
MV Vienna Wood N A. M. Nomikos Transworld Maritime Agencies 0 0 20 The Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier MV Vienna Wood N was on its way to Australia from Subic Bay Freeport when it collided with the fishing vessel Liberty 5 in the vicinity of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. A hold departure order was given to the 20 crew of the bulk carrier by a court in Mamburao while the Philippine Coast Guard filed criminal charges against crew and owners of the vessel. The charges were dismissed by prosecutors after the owners of the fishing vessel and the owners of the bulk carrier reached a settlement worth PH₱ 40 million. The vessel was allowed to leave the Philippines on 17 September 2020.
MV Mercraft 2 Mercraft Shipping 23 May 2022 9 0 148

The ferry left Polillo Island at 5 a.m. and caught fire, allegedly starting from the engine room, at approximately 1,000 yards from the Port of Real. The vessel was then towed to Baluti Island in Real, Quezon.


MV Lady Mary Joy 3 		Aleson Shipping Lines 29 March 2023 33 0 216

The ferry was en route to Jolo, Sulu from Zamboanga City when it caught fire off Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan. 18 of the dead were found inside the ship after it was towed to shore

MB Aya Express Unknown 27 July 2023 26 0 40

Overloaded motor banca capsized en route to Talim Island from Binangonan, Rizal when it was hit by strong winds 45 meters from the shores of Laguna de Bay, causing the passengers to panic and move to the left side.

  1. a b c d Data are based from the records of the Board of Marine Inquiry of the Philippine Coast Guard, unless taken and supported from other references.
  2. a b The death toll of 4,341 was only an estimate, which also includes the missing.

See also