Photo courtesy of Provincial Government of Basilan.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Monday it will maintain round-the-clock search and rescue operations for the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 until every passenger is located.
PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, said the official probe into the sinking will start only after the SAR and retrieval efforts are completed.
He added that in previous incidents, survivors have sometimes been found days after the main rescue operations had ended.
Updated data showed that 317 passengers, 26 crew members, and a sea marshal were aboard when the ferry departed Zamboanga City, fewer than the 332 listed on the manifest.
Gavan stressed the ferry was not overloaded, noting its maximum capacity of 352 and that 15 listed passengers had canceled their trips.
By Monday night, 316 passengers had been rescued, 18 were confirmed dead, and 10 remained missing, most of them crew members including the sea marshal.
The PCG chief directed all stations to tighten pre-departure inspections to prevent overloading, and said the 25,000 liters of diesel on board pose minimal environmental risk since it is light oil that dissipates quickly.