MARINA announces nationwide safety audit after MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sinking

MANILA — The Maritime Industry Authority on Wednesday vowed to strengthen maritime safety regulations and enforcement following recent maritime incidents, including the sinking of MV Trisha Kerstin 3 off Basilan.

In a virtual press conference, MARINA Enforcement Service Director Lui Delos Santos said the incidents exposed serious and systemic safety challenges in the country’s maritime transport sector.

Delos Santos said accidents occurring even during favorable weather conditions show that risks go beyond weather, pointing to other issues such as vessel seaworthiness, maintenance practices, operational discipline, and safety management systems.

“These are clear signals that existing controls and routine oversight are no longer sufficient,” Delos Santos told reporters.

In response, MARINA will adopt a more proactive and risk-based approach to maritime safety regulation and enforcement.

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Delos Santos said this includes intensified safety audits, more frequent and targeted inspections of high-risk vessels and operators, and stricter accountability for shipowners and managers.

“Our objective is to prevent avoidable tragedies, protect lives at sea, and restore public confidence by ensuring that safety is never treated as optional in domestic shipping,” he said.

He added that MARINA’s coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard remains “very robust,” particularly in search, rescue, and investigation efforts.

NATIONWIDE SAFETY AUDIT

MARINA announced that it will conduct a comprehensive, nationwide safety audit of domestic shipping fleets, using a scoring and classification system to assess vessel risk levels on a per-vessel basis.

Under the system, vessels and operators will be classified according to risk, allowing regulators to focus monitoring efforts on high-risk ships.

According to Delos Santos, MARINA currently oversees around 16,000 domestic vessels, including fishing, cargo, and passenger ships, making inspections challenging due to limited manpower.

“MARINA can only visit the regular inspection of ships once a year. So, at the time of the inspection, they can be compliant. But the day after until the next visit, that is our next challenge, whether or not [they continue to comply with] the safety regulations that we are implementing,” he noted.

“With the few people that we have in MARINA, it will be difficult for us to conduct a comprehensive safety audit in two or three months… We are doing this even if it will take a while. It should be sustainable and, at the same time, long lasting,” he further said.

“This is the first time we will be undertaking a comprehensive safety audit of our domestic fleet.”

Delos Santos said inspectors and auditors, including naval architects and engineers, will be deployed to ensure impartial and thorough assessments.

31 INCIDENTS SINCE 2019

Delos Santos confirmed that Aleson Shipping Lines, owner of MV Trisha Kerstin 3, has been involved in 31 maritime incidents and violations since 2019.

These include engine trouble, allision, ramming, grounding, steering failure, hydraulic malfunction, near-miss or tilting, man overboard, and fire and sinking incidents.

He said many of the deficiencies were “rectifiable,” but vessels found non-compliant were suspended by MARINA.

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“When it’s rectifiable...[we don't need] to suspend their safety certificates,” the official explained.

Delos Santos stressed that shipowners are responsible for ensuring their vessels are seaworthy, particularly in terms of maintenance and technical management.

MARINA’s preliminary assessment showed that the incidents were dominated by three major risk areas: machinery reliability failure, navigational control problems, and crew safety issues.

He clarified that these findings are preliminary and will be validated once the official investigation is completed.

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ALESON’S PASSENGER SHIPS

Delos Santos said Aleson Shipping has 24 registered passenger vessels.

Of these, 12 are currently operational, five are non-operational, six are on dry dock, and one has sunk.

MARINA inspectors and auditors have been deployed to Zamboanga to audit the company’s vessels.

Ships that pass inspection may be allowed to resume operations on a permissive basis, according to Delos Santos.

“It means that if a ship complies with the safety requirements through inspection and audit, the suspension will be lifted,” he noted.

TWO AFFECTED ROUTES

Two major routes have been affected by the grounding of Aleson’s passenger fleet: Bongao, Tawi Tawi–Zamboanga City, and Zamboanga City–Lamitan, Basilan.

To minimize disruption, MARINA has invited prospective shipping operators to deploy vessels on the affected routes.

The agency has also relaxed sailing schedules for existing operators to accommodate stranded passengers.

“It means that the exiting operators, when their passengers arrive, they can leave and return,” Delos Santos said.

He then continued, “For the routes, it is difficult for us to invite shipping operators to deploy their vessels. The Philippine Coast Guard promised that for the meantime, we can use the assets of the PCG and we will implement the Libreng Sakay.”

He also emphasized that no fare increases have been approved and that monitoring of operators will be tightened.

STREAMLINED INSURANCE CLAIMS

MARINA has also streamlined documentary requirements for insurance claims of victims and survivors, following instructions from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

A help desk has been set up at Aleson Shipping’s office to assist families.

Required documents include an affidavit of the nearest kin, death certificate, PCG certification, birth certificate, and valid identification.

“The instruction is not to be too technical… The way I understand it is to prove that he is one of the passengers and there are things that need to be shown. For example, his identity. But we will cross-check that in the passenger manifesto,” Delos Santos said.

Survivors are entitled to P50,000 in financial assistance, while families of those who died will receive P200,000 per victim.

PUBLIC ASSURANCE

Delos Santos said the total number of fatalities linked to Aleson-related incidents has reached 51.

This includes 33 deaths from a fire incident in 2023 and 18 fatalities from the sinking of M/V Trisha Kerstin 3.

Despite recent maritime incidents, MARINA assured the public that passenger vessels remain generally safe.

Intensified inspections and audits are now underway to restore public trust in maritime transport, Delos Santos noted.

“We assure the public that MARINA will continue to be proactive in ensuring that the plans and programs relating to maritime safety will be sustainable. Sustainable in the sense that it will not be a band-aid solution, but something that our public will feel,” he said.

“[The public] should not be afraid. That’s what MARINA is assuring to our passengers using our maritime transportation system,” he added.