The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is tightening the screws on maritime safety, vowing tougher audits and more frequent vessel inspections after yet another deadly sea disaster.

MARINA Enforcement Service Director Luisito “Lui” Delos Santos said the sinking of M/V Trishia Kerstin 3 in Basilan waters this week “points to serious and systemic safety challenges within the country’s maritime transport sector.” He warned that the incident exposed deep failures beyond weather, stressing that “safety risks are not limited to weather alone, but extend to vessel seaworthiness, maintenance practices, operational discipline, and safety management systems.”

Delos Santos said MARINA will shift to a “more proactive, risk-based approach” by intervening earlier, intensifying safety audits, ramping up inspections of high-risk vessels, and imposing stricter accountability on shipowners and operators. “Our objective is straightforward: to prevent avoidable tragedies, protect lives at sea, and restore public confidence by ensuring that safety is never treated as optional in domestic shipping,” he said.

Aleson Shipping Lines (ASL), owner of MV Kerstin 3, has logged 32 maritime incidents since 2019, including the Basilan sinking. In response, Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez ordered the grounding of ASL’s entire passenger fleet pending a joint MARINA–Philippine Coast Guard investigation.

So far, 316 passengers have been rescued, 18 bodies recovered, and 10 people — including the ship captain, eight crew members, and a PCG marshal — remain missing.