Doña Paz disaster was the worst maritime disaster ever to occur during peacetime. It occurred on Dec. 20, 1987, in the Tablas Strait between the Philippine islands of Marinduque and Mindoro. Thousands of people died when the Doña Paz, a Philippine ferry, collided with an oil tanker.
On Dec. 20, 1987, the Doña Paz was ferrying passengers from Leyte Island to Manila, the Philippine capital, on the island of Luzon. According to the ship’s manifest (list of cargo), 1,583 passengers and about 60 crew members were on board. However, the ship likely carried many more people. The manifest probably did not include children and people who bought their ticket after boarding. Some witnesses claimed the ship was overcrowded. It may have had as many as 4,400 people on board.
Around 10 p.m., the Doña Paz collided with the Vector, a Philippine oil tanker. The Vector, with a crew of 13, was carrying about 8,800 barrels of oil. When the ships collided, the oil immediately caught fire. Both ships burst into flames, and burning oil spread over the sea. Many Doña Paz passengers jumped into the fiery waters and drowned. Others were trapped in the burning ferry as it sank.
Experts estimate that from 3,000 to nearly 4,400 people died as a result of the collision. Only 26 people—24 passengers from the Doña Paz and 2 crew members from the Vector—survived.
A coast guard report stated that only an apprentice mate (a junior member of the bridge crew) was on duty on the Doña Paz at the time of the accident. But in 1988, a board of marine inquiry found the Vector at fault for the collision. The Vector was found to be operating with an expired license and an unqualified crew.
