The biggest ship collision ever recorded at sea is the 1987 catastrophe, involving a Philippine passenger ferry, Dona Paz and the oil tanker MT Vector, in the Tablas Strait, near Manila, Philippines.
On the night of December 20, 1987, MV DonaPaz was sailing from Tacloban, Leyte, to Manila with thousands of passengers, surpassing its capacity since it was the Christmas season.
Of all the people onboard both vessels, just 26 lived, 24 from the Dona Paz ferry and 2 from Vector, taking the total death toll to 4386, the highest for any peacetime maritime disaster caused by a ship collision at sea.
Some even refer to this disaster as ‘Asia’s Titanic’, and it is the deadliest ship collision in maritime history, in terms of lives lost.
Unfolding of the Biggest Ship Collision At Sea
At around 10:30 p.m., while crossing the Tablas Strait close to Dumali Point, Marinduque, the ferry collided with the oil tanker MT Vector, loaded with 8800 barrels of petroleum products. The tanker was sailing from Bataan to Masbate.
During the collision, most passengers were asleep, and though the weather was clear and the visibility was good, the sea was choppy.
After the impact, the cargo of gasoline and petroleum products onboard the tanker caught fire and led to a blast. The flames spread rapidly, consuming both vessels.
Survivor Accounts
Philippine Constabulary corporal Luthgardo Niedo stated that the lights went out after the explosion, and there was complete darkness. They could not find life vests, and the crew panicked, without giving any clear instructions to the passengers about evacuation.
As fire and panic engulfed everyone, lifeboats could not be launched.
Survivors reported a chaotic scene onboard the ferry, with passengers crowding the corridors in darkness and desperately trying to escape the fire and the toxic fumes.
Hundreds of people who made it to the decks jumped into the sea, however, they did not know that the water was also ablaze due to the spilt fuel from the MT Vector.
They used suitcases and other things to keep them afloat. Many swam among the burnt bodies and sustained third-degree burns, and some even described seeing the skin being peeled from those around them, a truly horrifying sight.
Another survivor, Valeria Duma, who was 14 at the time of the incident, later said that she had not been counted among the rescued. The youngest known survivor of the biggest collision ever recorded at sea was a 4-year-old boy.
All crew members of the Dona Paz ferry died, so only passenger accounts are available. On the other hand, two crew members of the tanker MT Vector survived as they had been asleep when the collision occurred.
Dona Paz sank in less than two hours, while Vector sank about 4 hours after the collision. Rescue operations were late, as it took 8 hours before the authorities got to know about the collision and another 8 hours to begin the search and rescue efforts.
Investigation Findings
The ships collided in clear weather with good visibility, while both were moving at slow speeds in the open sea, raising questions about how the events unfolded and why they happened.
Investigation revealed that the MT Vector oil tanker was unseaworthy and was sailing without a licence and with an underqualified crew.
Its rudder was defective and needed two men to steer it. There was no proper lookout or a well-qualified and experienced master on the vessel.
Similar findings were reported from the Ferry Dona Paz. Just an apprentice crew member was on the bridge when the collision happened, while other officers were said to be engaged in leisure activities, and the captain was watching a movie in his cabin.
Both ships lacked functioning radios, which hampered rescue efforts. However, the Supreme Court of the Philippines later ruled that the negligence of the tanker was the main cause of the disaster.
Technical Specifications
MV Dona Paz was built in 1963 in Japan and was originally named Himeyuri Maru. It remained operational as a passenger ferry for 13 years, after which it was bought by Sulpicio Lines, now called Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation, in 1975.
It was named MV Don Sulpicio and then MV Dona Paz. It operated between Manila and Tacloban City, and stopped at Catbalogan and other ports in the Visayas region.
Dona Paz was 93.1 m long, 15.5 m wide and had a gross tonnage of 2324 tonnes. It had a diesel engine and a speed of 17 knots.
It had a capacity of 1518, including crew, however, it was carrying over 4000 people when the incident occurred. There were 58 crew members onboard at the time of the collision, all of whom died.
Dona Paz was designed for both economy and first-class passengers and had air-conditioned cabins, common areas and a canteen. It had lifejackets and lifeboats, but they could not be accessed during the disaster.
The ferry was known to regularly carry passengers beyond its capacity, especially during the festive season and holidays.
It had poorly maintained safety equipment and inadequately trained personnel. In 1979, it had caught fire once but was repaired and returned to the waters.
MT Vector tanker was constructed in 1980 in the Philippines and named Oil Nic-II. It was owned by Vector Shipping, Inc., and was registered in Manila.
It was 51.7 m long, 11.6 m wide and 3.6 m deep.
The vessel had a gross tonnage of 629 tonnes and was used to transport petroleum products such as diesel, gasoline, and kerosene.
During the tragic 1987 disaster, it was revealed that the most senior navigator onboard only held a 2nd mate license, and the crew was reportedly drinking and celebrating during the voyage.
The owner of the tanker was found responsible for the incident as the tanker was operating without a license and with an inadequately trained crew. The court ordered the owner to compensate the families of the victims, while the cargo’s charterer was absolved of any responsibility.
In a recent development, the wrecks of MT Vector and MV Dona Paz were discovered by the research ship RV Petrel on December 19, 2019. Vector was found lying upright at a depth of 500 meters in the Tablas Strait, while Dona Paz was located just 2,200 meters away, also in an upright position and in good condition.
The discovery of these wrecks serves as a haunting reminder of the largest ship collision ever recorded at sea, which occurred on December 20, 1987, due to human negligence and a lack of enforcement of maritime laws by authorities. This tragic event resulted in the loss of over 4000 lives.