Zamboanga City (MindaNews/24 February)–Technical divers of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are set to end the underwater search and retrieval operations for the remaining missing passengers and crew of M/V Trisha Kerstin-3 which sank in the waters off Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan last month.
Commander Rommel Dua, Chief for Operations of the Coastguard District South Western Mindanao (CDSWM), said the Technical Diving Group has completed a full underwater search of all areas of M/V Trisha Kerstin-3 despite facing several challenges such as strong underwater current, debris and other hazards.
Since the dive operations started in January 28, a total of 22 cadavers have been recovered by the diving team from the ship’s Deck A, Deck B, car deck, including the vehicles that sank together with the vessel, the pilot house, and the engine room.
Dua said, the divers were able to get inside the engine room in spite of oil contamination and scattered debris which caused limited visibility.
There were also heavy siltation and the possibility of the vessel to further list, thereby causing danger to the divers. But the diving team noted that both exposed sides of the hull, including the ramps, remain intact.
“There were no visible fractures, no holes as earlier rumors stated,” Dua said.
The official however assured, the divers will conduct “re-swiping operations until February 26, and once again search all areas, to ensure no part of the vessel is left unchecked.”
Although the dive operations will end on Thursday, 26 February, the PCG assures that search operations in the sea surface and coastal areas in the region will continue.
According to official records show 14 persons, including four crew members, are still missing.
However, the official tally of the missing does not match with the list produced by a group of survivors and families of missing passengers and crew. Atty Aquino Sajili, a survivor of the tragedy said, there are still 27 persons unaccounted for.
The tally also does not include a family of Badjao, among others, who were not in the passenger manifest but who were said to have boarded the ill-fated vessel.
The PCG says these claims will undergo validation by proper agencies.
Of the 65 total number of casualties, 7 remain unidentified. Tissue samples have been collected from the recovered bodies for identification through DNA tests.
One of the four missing crew is 28-year-old JD Kent Pioquinto, a resident of Zamboanga City.
His brother, Denmark, called on the PCG not to stop the underwater search until all the remaining victims are recovered.
Denmark is also asking the PCG to let him see the uncut video of the underwater operations so that he can be assured that no part of the vessel was missed.
“Request del familia, man video sila, aquel nohay cut. Dale mira ta entra sila na cabin. Manada pa gad familia el ta espera (The family is requesting an uncut video of their diving operations. We want to see them entering the cabin. There are still many families waiting),” Denmark said in Chavacano.
JD Kent was the ill-fated vessel’s Second Engineer. He started working with Aleson Shipping Lines, owner and operator of M/V Trisha Kerstin-3, two years ago. He is the eldest among 7 siblings.
Commander Dua said, all dive operations were well-documented, the video clips of which, will be submitted as part of the ongoing investigation.
Based on the consolidated data from the PCG, PNP-SOCO, and Zamboanga City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, there were 372 total number of passengers and crew on board M/V Trisha Kerstin-3 when it left the port of Zamboanga bound for Jolo, Sulu in the evening of January 26,2026.
The vessel sank when it reached the vicinity of Baluk-Baluk Island in Hadji Muhtamad Municipality. Official records say 293 survived while 65 perished. (Queenie Casimiro/MindaNews)
