Philippine ferries

[Colsie]

Was planning a trip over to Bohol next week, but yesterday the Roro ferry caught fire and sank, with a couple of fatalities...

I almost caught the 2go ferry that sank in Cebu in 2013...

Is the Philippines one of the worst countries in the world for ferry disasters?

So much has been written and filmed about the Titanic tragedy with1500 lives lost...but ask anyone about the MV Dona Paz Ferry that sank in 1987 with 4,375 souls 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Colsie
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[sanagimo]

well at least there is no icebergs and just above freezing temp

[sanagimo]

2 hours ago, sanagimo said:

well at least there is no icebergs and just above freezing temp

Im from Newfoundland and the ocean is cold

 

[Snowy79]

I've done a few 12hr ferry sailings with no issues and a few 2hr ones that were scary to say the least.  Having lived on Orriental Mindoro the usual escape route is a 30km ferry ride, initially it was bankas which were banned for safety reasons then fibreglass coffins which I hated and now reasonable fastcraft and roro ferries. A good few times of the year all crossings by boat are banned, sometimes with little notice and you can get stranded, not good if you have a flight to catch or wanting to get to a decent hospital. 

[Colsie]

1 hour ago, sanagimo said:

Im from Newfoundland and the ocean is cold

 

Well that would keep the sharks away 

[OnMyWay]

41 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

initially it was bankas which were banned for safety reasons then fibreglass coffins

They don't have the bankas from Batangas to Puerta Galera anymore?

[OnMyWay]

We are travelling Manila to Cebu on MV Maligaya in a few weeks.  It is a large, modern ship, built it 2003.  I'm monitoring Windy.com, and the winds / weather are looking good.  I would cancel if there was a typhoon in the area.  We have 2 staterooms for the 17 hour cruise.  I'm looking forward to it.

https://wanderpinas.com/2go-newest-and-largest-ship-mv-maligaya/

[Colsie]

41 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

I've done a few 12hr ferry sailings with no issues and a few 2hr ones that were scary to say the least.  Having lived on Orriental Mindoro the usual escape route is a 30km ferry ride, initially it was bankas which were banned for safety reasons then fibreglass coffins which I hated and now reasonable fastcraft and roro ferries. A good few times of the year all crossings by boat are banned, sometimes with little notice and you can get stranded, not good if you have a flight to catch or wanting to get to a decent hospital. 

I've done Batangas to Puerto Galera back in 2011 and I remember the fibre glass coffin boats and how claustrophobic they were, the used the same type of boats when I used to travel from Tubigon Port, Bohol to Cebu... 

When I was based in Bohol, a few weeks after the Cebu 2go disaster in August 2013 I took the same ferry route to Manila without issue. The scariest ferry ride was an overnight ferry from Bohol to Dapitan, Mindanao. I had a private cabin and man the sea was rough, but I took sea sickness tablets and slept like a baby. 

I get what you're saying about the ferries being banned from sailing when the weather is ugly and not being able to get to the airport. Its the same for flights from the province, that's why I usually book my flight out of the country with Philippine Airlines with the domestic and international flight on the same ticket. So if they cancel the domestic part then they can reschedule the whole trip... If your international flight out is with a different domestic carrier, good luck trying to rebook the international leg of the journey... Also, if you use a different domestic carrier, you may need to swap terminals in Manila, which can be a headache and take a while. 

[Colsie]

11 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

We are travelling Manila to Cebu on MV Maligaya in a few weeks.  It is a large, modern ship, built it 2003.  I'm monitoring Windy.com, and the winds / weather are looking good.  I would cancel if there was a typhoon in the area.  We have 2 staterooms for the 17 hour cruise.  I'm looking forward to it.

https://wanderpinas.com/2go-newest-and-largest-ship-mv-maligaya/

If there was bad weather the coast guard would not let the ship leave Port...

I was never used to be great on boats until I started taking sea sickness tablets, now I look forward to rough seas lol

The big ships are stable and efficient and I would be confident to use them again, especially this time of year... 

[Snowy79]

57 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

They don't have the bankas from Batangas to Puerta Galera anymore?

No they were made illegal before covid kicked off.  I never minded them even though I was in two that broke down, one with an engine fire but I'm a very strong swimmer.  They were initially replaced by fibreglass boats that bobbed like a cork, you got crammed inside then they locked the door, next to zero chance of getting out if they capsised.