The Philippine Coast Guard has terminated dive operations on the wreck of a passenger vessel that sank in an incident that claimed more than 60 lives off the southern Philippine province of Basilan late last month.
In an interview with local radio station DZBB on Thursday, February 26, coast guard spokesperson Captain Noemie Cayabyab said that divers have completed their weeks-long search in and around the wreckage of the Ro-Pax ferry Trisha Kerstin 3, which lies more than 70 metres beneath the surface just off Basilan's Baluk-Baluk Island.
Cayabyab assured that search and rescue (SAR) personnel will continue attempting to locate 14 of the ferry's occupants who are still missing. However, the SAR operation will use only surface assets moving forward.
Commodore Rejard Marfe, Commander of Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao, had earlier said that coast guard divers have been working under hazardous conditions including near-zero visibility, strong currents and the presence of debris and oil contamination since January 28 but were able to recover 22 bodies from within the sunken vessel.
Sixty-five fatalities and 293 survivors have been reported among the people who were on the ferry when it sank while en route to Sulu province in the early morning (local time) of January 26, 2026. One survivor has alleged that the vessel was already listing even before it left port just hours earlier.
Cayabyab meanwhile assured the families of the missing passengers and crew that they will continue to receive updates and assistance from local authorities.
Baird Maritime tracks global passenger vessel accidents in its comprehensive database, which can be accessed here.
