MT Vector was a small motor tanker, built in Manila, Philippines in 1980 as Oil Nic-II, with a tonnage of 629 grt and a length of 51.7 m (170 ft). The tanker was designed to transport petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. Prior to December 1987, the tanker was acquired by Vector Shipping Inc., owned by Don Francisco Soriano, a shipping entrepreneur from Manila.[1]
Collision with MV Doña Paz
On 19 December 1987 at about 8:00 p.m., Vector left Limay, Bataan en route to Masbate with a crew of 13, and loaded with 8,800 barrels of petroleum products shipped by the ship's charterer, Caltex Philippines, now Chevron.[5] The following morning, at about 6:30 a.m., the passenger and cargo ferryDoña Paz left the port of Tacloban headed for Manila with a complement of 59 crew members, including the master and his officers, and passengers totaling 1,493 as indicated in the Coast Guard Clearance, though in fact it is estimated to have been well over 4,000. Doña Paz was a passenger and cargo vessel owned and operated by Sulpicio Lines, plying the route of Manila/Tacloban/Catbalogan/Manila/Catbalogan/Tacloban/Manila.
At about 10:30 p.m. on 20 December 1987, the two vessels collided in the open sea in the vicinity of Dumali Point in Tablas Strait between Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro. As the two vessels collided, Vector's cargo ignited and caused a fire that spilled into the water and rapidly spread to Doña Paz, which sank within hours. Vector also sank shortly afterwards. Two of the 13 crew members aboard Vector (Franklin Bornilio and Reynaldo Taripe) survived but all 58 crew of Doña Paz died. The official death toll for the ferry is 1,565, although reports indicate the vessel was extremely overcrowded and actual deaths included thousands more. Following investigations the death toll of passengers and crew from both ships was estimated to be 4,386,[2] although admitting that only 1,568 were on the manifest (still more than the licensed maximum of 1,518). The 21 (or 25) survivors from the ferry had to swim, as there was no time to launch lifeboats.[6] They were rescued from the burning waters by vessels that responded to distress calls.[6][7] The two survivors from Vector's crew said that they were sleeping at the time of the incident.[8]
Judgment
Vector Shipping was found liable for the crash, while the chartering company, Caltex, was absolved of responsibility. In a judgement on 24 July 2008, The Supreme Court of the Philippines absolved Caltex Philippines (now Chevron) from any liability in the collision between Doña Paz and Vector. The decision affirmed the Court of Appeals' ruling against Vector Shipping and its owner Francisco Soriano.[9]Vector was ordered to reimburse and indemnify Sulpicio Lines Php 800,000.00. This was the total amount due to the Macasa family whose kin were among the passengers of MV Doña Paz.[9] The Court ruled that "MT Vector was unseaworthy at the time of the accident and that its negligence was the cause of the collision that led to the sinking of the Sulpicio vessel."[10]
A former captain told investigators that the rudder was defective and that it took two men to steer the wheel. An inquiry also found that members of the crew of Vector were underqualified and that the vessel's licence had expired.
Wreck
The wreck of Vector was found by RV Petrel on December 19, 2019. She lies upright at a depth of 500 meters. Doña Paz was found lying 2200 meters away in the same state. Both wrecks are in good condition.[11]
References
^ ab"Vector". Sea-Web (subscription required). IHS Global Ltd. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
^ abDet Norske Veritas Report No. 97-2053, Annex 1: Passenger Vessel Evacuation Descriptions, sec. I.4.1, p. I.36, FSA of HLA on PassengerVessels, C8065\annex 1.doc 1 November 2001. http://research.dnv.com/skj/Fsahla/Annex1.pdf
^. 2019-04-01. Archived from the original on 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
^"7 of the World's Deadliest Shipwrecks". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
vector, vector, philippine, tanker, that, collided, with, passenger, ferry, doña, december, 1987, tablas, strait, philippines, resulting, deaths, estimated, passengers, crew, from, ships, incident, considered, deadliest, peacetime, maritime, disaster, history,. Vector was a Philippine oil tanker that collided with the passenger ferry Dona Paz on December 20 1987 in the Tablas Strait Philippines resulting in the deaths of an estimated 4 386 passengers and crew from the two ships 2 The incident is considered the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history 3 4 MT Vector HistoryPhilippinesNameOil Nic IIOwnerVector Shipping Inc Francisco Soriano ManilaPort of registryManilaBuilderNavotas Industrial Corp ManilaCompleted1980RenamedVector before December 1987IdentificationIMO number 8427632FateCaught fire and sank after a collision with the MV Dona Paz on 20 December 1987 General characteristicsClass and typeOil TankerTonnage629 grtLength51 7 m 170 ft Beam11 6 m 38 ft Depth3 6 m 12 ft Installed power250 bhpPropulsionsingle screwNotes 1 Contents 1 Description 2 Collision with MV Dona Paz 3 Judgment 4 Wreck 5 References 6 External linksDescription EditMT Vector was a small motor tanker built in Manila Philippines in 1980 as Oil Nic II with a tonnage of 629 grt and a length of 51 7 m 170 ft The tanker was designed to transport petroleum products such as gasoline kerosene and diesel Prior to December 1987 the tanker was acquired by Vector Shipping Inc owned by Don Francisco Soriano a shipping entrepreneur from Manila 1 Collision with MV Dona Paz EditOn 19 December 1987 at about 8 00 p m Vector left Limay Bataan en route to Masbate with a crew of 13 and loaded with 8 800 barrels of petroleum products shipped by the ship s charterer Caltex Philippines now Chevron 5 The following morning at about 6 30 a m the passenger and cargo ferry Dona Paz left the port of Tacloban headed for Manila with a complement of 59 crew members including the master and his officers and passengers totaling 1 493 as indicated in the Coast Guard Clearance though in fact it is estimated to have been well over 4 000 Dona Paz was a passenger and cargo vessel owned and operated by Sulpicio Lines plying the route of Manila Tacloban Catbalogan Manila Catbalogan Tacloban Manila At about 10 30 p m on 20 December 1987 the two vessels collided in the open sea in the vicinity of Dumali Point in Tablas Strait between Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro As the two vessels collided Vector s cargo ignited and caused a fire that spilled into the water and rapidly spread to Dona Paz which sank within hours Vector also sank shortly afterwards Two of the 13 crew members aboard Vector Franklin Bornilio and Reynaldo Taripe survived but all 58 crew of Dona Paz died The official death toll for the ferry is 1 565 although reports indicate the vessel was extremely overcrowded and actual deaths included thousands more Following investigations the death toll of passengers and crew from both ships was estimated to be 4 386 2 although admitting that only 1 568 were on the manifest still more than the licensed maximum of 1 518 The 21 or 25 survivors from the ferry had to swim as there was no time to launch lifeboats 6 They were rescued from the burning waters by vessels that responded to distress calls 6 7 The two survivors from Vector s crew said that they were sleeping at the time of the incident 8 Judgment EditVector Shipping was found liable for the crash while the chartering company Caltex was absolved of responsibility In a judgement on 24 July 2008 The Supreme Court of the Philippines absolved Caltex Philippines now Chevron from any liability in the collision between Dona Paz and Vector The decision affirmed the Court of Appeals ruling against Vector Shipping and its owner Francisco Soriano 9 Vector was ordered to reimburse and indemnify Sulpicio Lines Php 800 000 00 This was the total amount due to the Macasa family whose kin were among the passengers of MV Dona Paz 9 The Court ruled that MT Vector was unseaworthy at the time of the accident and that its negligence was the cause of the collision that led to the sinking of the Sulpicio vessel 10 A former captain told investigators that the rudder was defective and that it took two men to steer the wheel An inquiry also found that members of the crew of Vector were underqualified and that the vessel s licence had expired Wreck EditThe wreck of Vector was found by RV Petrel on December 19 2019 She lies upright at a depth of 500 meters Dona Paz was found lying 2200 meters away in the same state Both wrecks are in good condition 11 References Edit a b Vector Sea Web subscription required IHS Global Ltd Retrieved 29 March 2015 a b Det Norske Veritas Report No 97 2053 Annex 1 Passenger Vessel Evacuation Descriptions sec I 4 1 p I 36 FSA of HLA on PassengerVessels C8065 annex 1 doc 1 November 2001 http research dnv com skj Fsahla Annex1 pdf Ferry collides with oil tanker near Manila HISTORY 2019 04 01 Archived from the original on 2019 04 01 Retrieved 2020 08 07 7 of the World s Deadliest Shipwrecks Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2020 08 07 Strings of Maritime Tragedies permanent dead link a b Caltex Phil Inc vs Sulpicio Lines Inc 131166 September 30 1999 J Pardo First Division Archived April 4 2008 at the Wayback Machine Decision Court of Appeals dated April 15 1997 Rollo pp 54 75 Vergara Ricky Ignacio Bert 30 December 1987 Dona Paz rammed tanker survivor Manila Standard pp 1 8 Retrieved 29 March 2015 a b gmanews tv story SC absolves Caltex in MV Dona Paz tragedy Archived 2009 08 22 at the Wayback Machine Vector Shipping Ordered to Pay Sulpicio Lines for 1987 Maritime Tragedy Archived 2009 08 08 at the Wayback Machine Paul Allen s research vessel surveys wreckage of Asia s Titanic 1987 ferry sinking killed 4 300 19 December 2019 External links EditShips of the World Article Guinness Records Article DNV Annex 1 Passenger vessel Evacuation descriptions P36 Strings of Maritime Tragedies permanent dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MT Vector amp oldid 1110501880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
