Home 
CEBU CITY, Philippines ? A parallel investigation will be conducted soon by the regional Maritme Industry (Marina) office into Saturday's sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars.
But it will start only after a marine protest is filed by the ship's captain or Sulpicio Lines management, said Marina 7 chief Glen Cabanes.
The ship's captain or the chief mate can file the marine protest asking the Coast Guard to determine the cause of the accident.
As to when this would be filed, Cabanes said it depends on how soon they can find the ship captain or the chief mate or the management.
Marina earlier ordered the grounding of all 14 passenger vessels of Sulpicio Shipping Lines nationwide pending inspection for safety requirements.
It was the Board of Marine Inquiry that earlier "absolved" Sulpicio Lines of any responsibility for the December 20, 1987 sinking of Sulpicio's MV Doña Paz after it collided with an oil tanker at Tablas Strait, killing more than 4,000 people. It was the world's worst peacetime sea tragedy.
The board had found the oil tanker MT Vector at fault for the collision.
Again, the board concluded that the sinking of the Doña Marilyn was a force majeure or "an act of God" and that no one was responsible for the sea tragedy.
MV Doña Marilyn, another Sulpicio Lines ship, sailed from Manila to Tacloban despite stormy weather on October 24, 1988. The ship encountered huge waves and capsized, leaving at least 250 people dead.
Ten years later, the largest ship on the Sulpicio Lines fleet sank at the height of yet another typhoon.
On September 18, 1998, Typhoon "Gading" lashed at the MV Princess of the Orient, which was allowed to sail from Manila to Cebu City. The 24-year-old vessel capsized past noon near Fortune Island in Nasugbu town, Batangas, claiming the lives of 150 people. /Chito Aragon, INS
