GMANews.TV - Monday, December 15
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday formed a Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) to investigate the sea tragedy that killed more than 20 people off Cagayan province Sunday night.
Radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported that Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo ordered PCG Northern Luzon commander Capt. Adelo Ibañez to head the SBMI.
In particular, Tamayo instructed the SBMI to look into the possibility that the ship was overloaded when it capsized off Cagayan province, noting that the total number of passengers at the time it capsized exceeded the vessel's capacity.
Tamayo noted that the franchise of the ill-fated M/B Maejan showed it was authorized to carry only 40 passengers and 10 crewmembers.
As of 8:30 a.m. Monday, 28 people were confirmed dead, 46 were rescued, while 22 others remain missing. - GMANews.TV
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Philippine maritime disaster.
At least 28 people drowned and were confirmed dead, 46 were rescued, while 34 others remain missing on Sunday, after an overcrowded passenger  capsized off waters in , a town of 17,000 people, the  police reported. 

'M/B Mae Jan', a wooden-hulled , was carrying 102 passengers, after an eight-hour voyage from  in the  for  when it capsized less than 300 meters (984 feet) from its destination, at 8:30 p.m. Its   broke due to strong waves, as it reached the mouth of the  ('Bannag' Rio Grande de Cagayan, 'Ilog ng Kagayan'), along  Linao, about 50 meters from the shoreline of Pallog village.

Divers from the combined teams of the  and  helped in the rescue operations. 11 of the fatalities, including the vessel owner, Arellano, and her daughter were identified. The police said  "there was a possibility that the boat was overloaded," saying that "there was also livestock on board."  Due to "trauma," the ferry's captain refused to talk to police.

The Pinacanauan River, seen just below the , is one of the major tributaries of the Cagayan River.
Meanwhile, the  (PCG) formed a Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) to investigate the sea tragedy. It ordered the "immediate dispatch of SAR-003 and MCS-3005 vessels and the PCG Islander for aerial surveillance." PCG noted the  possible overloading of the vessel since the boat's franchise authorized it to carry only 40 passengers and 10 crew members.

In November, a  sank in rough seas north of Cagayan, and passing vessels rescued 16 of 20 passengers. Weeks earlier, separate storms sank two passenger vessels in the central Philippines, drowning more than 50 people.

Prior to the ferry sinking, the  had issued  to , of approaching tropical storm "Ulysses" (international codename: Dolphin) from the Pacific with winds of up to 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour, centered off southeastern , eastern Philippines.