MANILA, Philippines?Maritime authorities Monday suspended the operations of all vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc., one of the Philippines? biggest inter-island shipping firms, whose 35-year history of ferrying passengers between islands has been marred by four sea tragedies.

The decision by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to ground the entire Sulpicio fleet coincided with a move in the Senate to investigate the disaster, and a call from the House of Representatives for the revocation of the licenses of shipping companies which had been repeatedly involved in major sea accidents.

The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) also formed a Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI). One question investigators said they would want answered was why the MV Princess of the Stars?which capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on Saturday with more than 800 people aboard?took the route that, as it turned out, placed it in the path of a typhoon.

A Sulpicio official said the shipping firm would cooperate with the government probe.

Rear Adm. Benjamin Mata, vice chair of the inquiry board, said the BMI would, among others, try to find out why the Princess of the Stars took the route that it did.

?We are going to try to find out why the master decided to use this route, whether he was aware the typhoon was in their vicinity or approaching this direction,? Mata told reporters, adding that as far as he knew, there was no port of refuge in Sibuyan.

Owner?s call

Mata said he thought the ship captain should have gone somewhere where it could find shelter when the weather worsened.

?The master should have gone to another port,? he said.

He noted that the Princess of the Stars did not seek cover which, he said, was what two SuperFerry ships?which had left Manila at the same time as the Sulpicio ship?did.

Another vessel from Negros Navigation that was likewise scheduled to leave on Friday, decided to postpone its trip, Mata said.

?It?s the judgment call of the owner,? he observed.

The DOTC also set up teams that would look into whether maritime guidelines should be revised, recommend future actions and provide assistance to the victims of the disaster, and their families.

A review committee will look at the guidelines for deploying vessels during stormy weather and a Task Force Princess Star will focus on providing relief and assisting in search and rescue operations.

The tragedy that struck the Princess of the Stars was the fourth to hit a Sulpicio ship in 21 years.

Worst in peacetime

The worst occurred in December 1987 when Sulpicio?s MV Doña Paz and the oil tanker MT Vector collided near Mindoro. More than 4,000 people died in what has been described as the world?s worst peacetime sea tragedy.

At a press conference, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said the MARINA suspended the Sulpicio vessels so it could inspect their seaworthiness and audit their compliance with maritime rules and regulations before they are allowed to sail again.

Mendoza said the passengers who had already bought tickets to Sulpicio vessels would be transferred to ships of other companies.

Gov?t control

He also said there was a need to take a second look at guidelines on deployment of vessels during stormy weather.

The review committee will be composed of maritime officials and ship owners.

?What we will talk about is government control and ship owners? discretion,? Mendoza said.

?The international maritime groups have no hard and fast rules about this. In other countries, it?s always the call of the captain. But the Philippines is in a peculiar situation because it experiences many storms.?

Mendoza said the government alone could not decide on this and there had to be collaboration with the maritime industry.

The BMI, headed by Rear Adm. Ramon Liwag, will look into the events that led to the capsizing of the ship.

Hearings this week

Liwag said he expected the board to come out with its findings and recommendations in 15 to 20 days. Its hearings are expected to start this week.

Speaking to reporters just before the DOTC announced the creation of an inquiry board, Sulpicio vice president for passenger affairs Sally Buaron said the firm had not received any suspension order but added: ?We will cooperate with the government.?

Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. told reporters that his office had revised the suspension order and that, initially, it would not include purely cargo vessels ?so that the existing load can be delivered.?

?Afterward there will be a complete suspension while we inspect all their ships starting with those docked at North Harbor,? Suazo said.

Sulpicio Lines has 11 roll-on roll-off passenger vessels, including the Princess of the Stars, and seven purely cargo vessels.

Certificates complete

Buaron, at an earlier press conference, said: ?As far as we are concerned we were allowed to sail [by the Coast Guard]. The ship had complete safety and quality certificates. As far as we know, although we are still assessing what really happened, the strong winds and waves caused the ship to run aground and start sinking.?

Buaron refused to give an estimate of the company?s possible losses if its ships were suspended.

She also said that the company would assist the survivors and compensate the families of the victims.

Sulpicio Lines is also refunding all tickets whether they were booked with the Princess of the Stars or not.

Biazon presentation

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon has filed a Senate resolution directing the committee on public services to take the lead in the investigation.

Biazon said the accident was ?preventable? based on the details of the ship?s departure and the warnings made by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA), the state weather bureau.

In a presentation to media, Biazon noted that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)?which gave the Sulpicio vessel the green light to set sail at 8 p.m. on June 20 when the storm signal in Metro Manila was still at No. 1?should have known as early as 5 a.m. of June 20 that the typhoon was already veering off the original track forecast by PAGASA.

Biazon also took to task the PCG for having most of its fleet in Metro Manila when it already knew that a big storm was coming, and that its fleet should have been dispersed in areas projected to be the storm?s path.

Biazon reckoned that the Princess of the Stars was still off the coast of Calatagan, Batangas, when the storm signal was raised to No. 3 and claimed its captain had plenty of time to go back to port for shelter.

?We need to look into the log books and preserve them,? Biazon said.

MARINA, which was responsible for checking the seaworthiness of vessels, could also be liable, Biazon said.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II said: ?This time, let us go beyond mere rhetoric and really get to the bottom of what exactly went wrong, and who are liable for this tragic incident, so that it will never happen again.?

Nograles: ?Strike 3?

Speaker Prospero Nograles said it appeared that Sulpicio Lines had never learned from its past three accidents.

In a statement, Nograles hinted on the possible revocation of Sulpicio?s franchise.

?It?s really unthinkable that after all these years we have not learned a lesson from the Doña Paz tragedy. Strike three, even in baseball or softball, means you?re out,? Nograles said.

Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, chair of the House committee on legislative franchises, said that the company faced a revocation of its franchise if it was found to have violated conditions of its privilege.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez refused to comment when asked if the sinking of four passenger vessels in the last two decades was enough ground to revoke the license of Sulpicio.

In a statement, Malacañang said the BMI would conduct a ?thorough probe of the Princess of the Stars sinking and the reported 200,000 liters of oil in the sunken ship that may cause an oil spill.? With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Norman Bordadora and Michael Lim Ubac