On Wednesday, transportation secretary Giovanni Lopez cited multiple safety violations in announcing administrative charges against the company, including the fact that vehicles boarding the ferry were never weighed as required by law.
“One of the possible causes of the sinking of the ship was the possibility of overcapacity and overloading,” Lopez told a news briefing.
“The investigation found that rolling cargo like trucks and motorcycles didn’t pass through the weighing station,” he said.
“If there was overloading or overcapacity, it’s possible cargo shifted … inside the vessel,” Lopez said, adding it was “highly probable” other ships in the archipelago nation were sailing overweight.
Reiniel Pascual, an investigator for the country’s maritime authority, separately confirmed passengers had received no instructions from the crew as the ship began to list.
“Based on the statements of the crew … there was no alarm or public address that took place during the emergency prior to the sinking and capsizing of the ship,” he said.
While at least 368 people were on board at the time of the sinking, a precise tally may never be known as a mismatch between the ferry’s manifest and actual passenger numbers became apparent as more bodies were discovered.
Aquino Sajili, an attorney who survived the sinking, told AFP he expected more bodies to be found by divers now searching the ship, which lies an estimated 76m deep.
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