# Hundreds saved from doomed ferry



## DET63 (Sep 6, 2009)

> *A rescue operation is under way in the Philippines after a ferry sank with more than 960 people on board.*
> Owners of the Superferry 9 say more than 867 people have been rescued but three people have died and more than 80 are unaccounted for.
> 
> The passenger ferry was sailing off the southern Zamboanga peninsula when it began listing.
> ...


BBC

Unlike the _Doña Paz_, it looks like fatalities will be relatively few. Like the _Doña Paz_, however, I don't think there will be a blockbuster movie made about this--either with or without a Céline Dion song at the end.


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## Green Maned Lion (Sep 16, 2009)

You know, long distance ferries are unprofitable. Its a big problem, because a lot of them are privately owned. Its not like, say, BC Ferry. They have ancient, worn-out boats that are barely afloat. And this is one of the results.

Most ferry operators that don't handle cars do not buy new boats, especially the ones that make overnight runs. What usually happens is something like this:

1975: Celebrity launches their biggest, best, nicest cruise ship to great fan fare.

1985: Celebrity demotes an old, and too small for modern purposes, ship to Bermuda service.

1990: Celebrity sells its ship to budget cruise line, Premier.

2000: The interior of the ship far too shopworn to please passengers, Premier retires the ship and leaves it in a storage facility pending refurbishment.

2005: Premier goes out of business. The ship is purchased, in its current condition, by Crappy Ferries Inc.

2006: Most of its worn luxuries stripped from the ship, it is cheaply refitted with easy-clean, simple furnishings. The nicer rooms are stripped out and replaced with smaller staterooms. Its mechanicals are given a mild overhaul. Its hull, now 31 years old, is given a repaint.

2009: The ancient, worn out, and fatigued ship pops a weld or rivet somewhere, and starts taking on water.

And once in a while, that happens while the ship is too far away to make it to port.

It's what killed TAFL about 10-15 years back, ending reasonably priced transatlantic travel, unless you're willing to risk traveling on an ocean freighter- or fly, I guess.


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