Basilan: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) stated that search and rescue (SAR) efforts will proceed without letup until every passenger of the tragic M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 has been located. PCG commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, announced that the investigation into the incident will commence once the SAR and retrieval operations are terminated.

According to Philippines News Agency, Gavan declined to give a timeline, noting that in past operations, survivors have been found even several days after the incident and the rescue task has ended. Verified data gathered by the PCG showed that the ferry boat was carrying 344 people when it departed the port of Zamboanga-317 passengers, not the 332 as listed on the manifest, along with 26 crew members and one sea marshal.

Gavan explained that further validation revealed that 15 of the 332 passengers listed on the manifest did not board when the vessel departed the local port. He clarified that the vessel was not overloaded, as its maximum passenger capacity is 352, leaving 35 available slots due to the canceled travels.

As of Monday night, 316 survivors had been accounted for, while 18 were confirmed dead and 10 remain missing. Among the missing, eight are crew members of the ill-fated vessel, including the sea marshal. No crew member has been confirmed among the dead so far.

Gavan has directed all PCG stations to tighten pre-departure inspections to ensure that all departing vessels are not overloaded. He remains optimistic that there would be no oil spill, although an oil sheen was noted at the incident site. He added that diesel fuel dissipates as it is classified as light oil. The boat was carrying 25,000 liters of diesel fuel when it sank.