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MV Princess of the Orient was a passenger ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines that sank off Fortune Island, off Batangas province in the Philippines in September 1998.
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The sinking
On September 18, 1998, the 13,935-ton, 195.1-metre (640 ft) long Princess of the Orient, sailed from Manila to Cebu during a typhoon. The ship capsized at 12:55 p.m. near Fortune Island in Batangas and sank, and out of the 388 passengers on board, 150 were killed. Passengers were floating at sea for more than 12 hours before rescuers were able to reach the survivors.
The wreck
The wreck is resting on her port side at 122 meters (400 ft) below sea level just outside Manila Bay. In the early 2000s, John Bennett and Ron Loos made the first scuba dives to the wreck site. Due to the position of the wreck, the actual cause of the sinking may not be discovered.
