MV Doña Paz
MV Doña Paz was a Japanese-built and Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after it collided with the oil tanker Vector on December 20, 1987. Built by Onomichi Zosen of Hiroshima, Japan, the ship was launched on April 25, 1963 as the Himeyuri Maru with a passenger capacity of 608. In October 1975, the Himeyuri Maru was bought by Sulpicio Lines and renamed the Don Sulpicio. After a fire on board in June 1979, the ship was refurbished and renamed Doña Paz.
Doña Paz berthed at Tacloban port in 1984 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Japan | |
| Name | Himeyuri Maru |
| Owner | RKK Line |
| Port of registry | Kagoshima |
| Builder | Onomichi Dockyard |
| Yard number | 118 |
| Launched | April 25, 1963 |
| Out of service | December 20, 1987 |
| Fate | Sold to Sulpicio Lines |
| Philippines | |
| Name | Don Sulpicio |
| Owner | Sulpicio Lines |
| Port of registry | Manila |
| Route | Tacloban–Catbalogan–Manila |
| Acquired | 1975 |
| Renamed | Doña Paz in 1981 |
| Refit | After a fire onboard June 5, 1979 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5415822 |
| Fate | Caught fire and sank after a collision with the MT Vector on December 20, 1987 |
| Notes | 4,385 people died in the sinking and only 26 survived making it the worst ship sinking in peacetime maritime history |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger ferry |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 93.1 m (305 ft) |
| Beam | 13.6 m (45 ft) |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Capacity | 1,518 passengers |
| Crew | 66 |
Traveling from Leyte Island to the Philippine capital, Manila, the vessel was seriously overcrowded, with at least 2,000 passengers not listed on the manifest. It has also been claimed that the ship did not have a radio and that the life jackets were locked away. However, official blame was directed at the tanker Vector, which collided with the Doña Paz and was found to be unseaworthy and to be operating without a license, a lookout, or a qualified master. With an estimated death toll of 4,385 people and only 26 survivors, it remains the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.