Note To Self: Avoid Ferries In The Philippines

September 8, 2009 at 8:44 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Well we made it through a very hectic Labor Day weekend for travelers without any major mishaps, that is, unless you were spending your three-day weekend in The Philippines, where a Superferry sunk on Sunday after a mysterious clunk was heard and the ferry began listing. As a result of the tragedy, nine people lost their lives although 957 others were saved—you can even see them heading down the ladders on the side of the ship in the picture above.

As if we weren't already wary about boarding vintage-looking vessels, The Guardian UK has this to say:

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations. Last year, a ferry overturned after sailing towards a powerful typhoon, killing more than 800 people on board.

For now, the Superferry's nine other sisterships have been stopped from sailing until safety checks are complete, since even now the sunken one is at risk of doing more damage, with 250 metric tons of oil it could leak, causing a small oil spill.

The news just keeps wavering from bad (ferry sinks) to good (almost 1,000 saved) and back to bad (oil leakage). Thus, we're going to guess that a Filipino ferry is left out of the book '1,000 Places To See Before You Die,' lest you actually die. We're also going to cross it off our own bucket list, unless we really have to go the route, and then we're treating it as an occasion for bring-your-own-life preserver.

Related Stories:
· Nine dead and dozens missing after ferry sinks in The Philippines [Times UK]
· Philippines Halts Entire Aboitiz Fleet After Ferry Sinking [Bloomberg]
· Accidents Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Reuters/Times UK]

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Tags: Accidents / Philippine Travel / Ferry Travel / Ships / Travel Safety / → All Tags