MV Princess of The Star is a cruise ferry that owned by a Philippines shipping company

Philippine Span Asia Carrier, Corp. These ship is built in 1984 by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy
Industries Co., Ltd. Aio, Japan. The first owner of these ship is Shin Nihonkai company that named
MV Ferry Lilac. Shin Nihonkai operate this ship from 1984 to 2004, then Philippine Span Asia
Carrier, Corp take charge of the owner MV Princess of The Star. The capacity of this ship is 1,992
passengers and the weight is 23,824 tonne.

The disaster that happen to Princess of The Star is cause by Typhoon Fengshen, locally
known as Typhoon Frank. Princess of the Stars had been allowed to set sail on Saturday despite
the threat posed by the typhoon because under the rules it was large enough to stay afloat under in
the typhoon's periphery. However, Fengshen unexpectedly changed course later that day, placing
the ferry in serious danger of being overwhelmed by the storm. Typhoon Fengshen, known in the
Philippines as Typhoon Frank, was the sixth named storm and the fourth typhoon that recognized
by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The Typhoon Warning Center recognized Fengshen as the
seventh tropical depression, the sixth tropical storm, and fifth typhoon of the 2008 Pacific typhoon
season. Fengshen made a direct hit on the Philippines and China, causing severe damage and
resulted in at least 1371 deaths and leaving 87 people missing. Most of the deaths occurred in the
Philippines, including 846 of the 922 people on board the Princess of the Stars who were killed
when the ship capsized.

Princess of the Stars left the port of Manila route to Cebu City. Typhoon Frank had made
landfall at Samar Island prior that day, Princess of the Stars was allowed to cruise on the grounds
that the vessel was sufficiently vast to remain above water in the storm's fringe. However, Typhoon
Frank suddenly changed course soon thereafter, putting the ship in danger threat of being
overpowered by the storm. The Sulpicio Lines office in Manila sent a distress call to the Philippine
Coast Guard. The Philippine Coast Guard sent a rescue vessels to check the condition of the ship,
however, the rescue vessel could not immediately proceed to check of M/V Princess of the Stars
because of the rough water.

The total number of people on board was 747 passengers and 121 ship crew. However,
Sulpicio Lines said that there had been 755 passengers and 111 ship crew, making a total abroad
of 866. How it is possible there was more passenger not recorded in the manifest. Base on report
that passenger survive from the ship, they find out to swim to close to Sibuyan Island. The ship is
not broken but the Princess of the star still running into harsh oceans off the coast of Romblon.
The captain give an order to the passenger of the ship to put on life jacket, and after fifteen minutes,
the captain says to abandon ship. Princess of the star started to tilt at around early afternoon. There
are many of them were not wearing life jacket, according to the four survivors. The survivors saw
passengers hopping into the water some passenger made it onto life raft. The crew of the ship are
more worried about saving themselves than with helping the passenger. The ship at long last
capsized at 1 pm early afternoon.

The investigation by the member of Philippines Board of Marine found that the operator
Sulpicio Lines and the captain of Princess of the star liable for the tragedy.

There are several reasons that cause the sink of MV Princess of the stars. The member
Philippines Board of Marine Investigation submitted to the Maritime Industry Authority or Marina
that founded the Sulpicio Lines and its captain liable for the tragedy. The BMI suggested that
Marina "consider the suspension of the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) of Sulpicio Lines
in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations and its criminal liability for the sinking."
The last report recorded blamed human error, and ruled that the ship's missing and presumed dead
captain, Florencio Marimon, "miscalculated" the risk of continuing the trip to Cebu despite the
stormy weather. According to the report: "The immediate cause of the capsizing of MV Princess
of the Stars was the failure of the Master to exercise extraordinary diligence and good seamanship
thereby committing an error of judgment that brought MV Princess of the Stars in harm's way into
the eye of Typhoon Frank. The shipping firm is found negligent for its failure to exercise its duty
in ensuring that they transport passengers and cargo safely to (their) destination." Sulpicio Lines
subsequently announced their intention to appeal the decision.

Sulpicio Lines, the second-largest cargo carrier in the Philippines, accounts for 40% of all cargo
movement across the country. Some commentators – such as Robert Go, former president of the
Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry – argued that suspending Sulpicio's activities would
cause significant disruption to the country's economy over the Christmas season.