MV Princess of the Stars

Recovery operations August 2008
History
Name:	Princess of the Stars
Owner:	Philippine Span Asia Carrier, Corp.
Operator:	Sulpicio Lines
Port of registry:	Philippines
Route:	Cebu City to Manila & v.v.
Completed:	1984
In service:	May 1, 2001
Out of service:	June 21, 2008
Fate:	Capsized during Typhoon Fengshen on June 21, 2008
Status:	Shipwrecked off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon
General characteristics
Class and type:	Cruiseferry
Tonnage:	23,824 GT
Length:	193 m
Beam:	28 m
Height:	43 m
Decks:	8
Ice class:	1A Super
Installed power:	2 Mitsubishi Diesel-Powered Pistol Engines
Propulsion:	2 4×4 Controllable Pitch Propellers
Speed:	21 knt.
Capacity:	2,876 Passengers
Crew:	978 crews

MV Princess of the Stars (sometimes mistakenly referred to as Princess of Stars) was a ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines. She capsized on June 21, 2008, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon, at the height of Typhoon Fengshen (PAGASA name: Frank), which passed directly over Romblon as a Category 2 storm.

Built in 1984 by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Aio, Japan, the 23,824-ton ferry MV Princess of the Stars, formerly MV Ferry Lilac of Shin Nihonkai Ferry, had a total passenger capacity of 1,992 people.

Princess of the Stars, flagship of the Sulpicio Lines fleet, left the port of Manila on June 20, 2008, en route to Cebu City. Although Typhoon Fengshen, locally known as Typhoon Frank, had made landfall at Samar Island earlier the same day, Princess of the Stars was permitted to sail because the vessel was large enough to stay afloat 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. At midday on June 21, the ferry sent out a distress signal; radio contact was lost at 12:30 PST (04:30 GMT). The mayor of San Fernando, Nanette Tansingco, sent a speedboat and confirmed that the ferry had a hole in the hull and was partially submerged, and that several bodies had been found nearby. Later reports revealed that the hole in the hull was actually the ship's bow thruster.

The total number of people aboard was initially reported as 747 – 626 passengers and 121 crew. On June 23, however, Sulpicio Lines announced that there had been 751 manifested passengers, 81 of whom were children, and 111 crew members, making a total of 862. It is possible that there were more passengers not recorded in the manifest.