MV Doña Paz
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The Doña Paz was a passenger ferry that sank after colliding with the oil tanker Vector on December 20, 1987.
The Doña Paz was en route from Catbalogan, Philippines on the island of Samar, to Manila, when, while it was in the Tablas Strait, between islands of Mindoro and Tablas, it collided with the small oil tanker, Vector, which was carrying 8,800 barrels of petroleum products.
The contents ignited and caused a fire that rapidly spread onto the Doña Paz. Of the 13 crew members aboard the Vector, 2 survived but all 58 crew of the Doña Paz died. The Doña Paz sank within minutes and the death toll on the ferry is officially at 1,565, although some reports claim that the ferry was overcrowded and that the true death toll is over 4,000. The ships would put the death toll at 4,375 although admitting that only 1,568 were on the manifest (still more than the licensed maximum of 1,518). The 21 (or 24) survivors from the ferry had to swim underwater to escape the flames, as no lifeboats had a chance to be launched.
Later an inquiry revealed that the crew of the Vector was underqualified and that the boat's license had expired.
It has been the worst ferry disaster and the worst peace-time maritime disaster in history.
