58 rescued from listing ferry off Quezon Province, Philippines

The Philippine Coast Guard rescued 58 people from a Ro-Pax ferry that listed heavily to starboard just off Real Port in the Philippines’ Quezon Province early (local time) on Friday, October 30.

Virgen de Peñafrancia II tilted to its right side approximately 10 metres from the port in Barangay Ungos, Real, at around 00:44.

The vessel, operated by Starhorse Shipping Lines, was sailing from Polillo Port to Real Port with 40 passengers, 18 crew, and 14 rolling cargoes on board.

All 58 occupants, including two infants, were evacuated by around 03:30. The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Real later assessed the evacuees and confirmed that all were in good physical condition.

The crew told authorities that the vessel had 1,300 litres of marine diesel oil in its service tank. Coast guard personnel are inspecting the remaining fuel and oil inventory.