Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (PSACC), formerly branded as Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI, ), is a major

shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. PSACC is one of the largest domestic shipping and container companies in the Philippines in terms of the number of vessels operated and gross tonnage. The company provides inter-island cargo services throughout the major ports and cities in the Philippines.

History

Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (PSACC) was established as Sulpicio Lines by Go Guioc So. Commonly known as Sulpicio Go, Go was a Chinese merchant from

Amoy Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

(now Xiamen) who emigrated to the Philippines in 1919 with his siblings. With his brother he set up a shipping enterprise in

Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas (; ; ; ) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands: Samar, Leyte, and Biliran. The region has six provinces: Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Easte ...

. In 1953, Go served as the managing partner of Carlos A. Gothong Lines, Inc. Sulpicio Go established his own venture with his sons by founding Sulpicio Lines in September 1973, starting with a fleet of 17 vessels, 1 tugboat and 5 barges. Sulpicio Lines catered to a

niche market A niche market is the subset of the market on which a product is appealed to a small group of consumers. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the ...

, opening tertiary and developmental passenger routes to isolated communities in Central and Eastern Visayas. Sulpicio Lines grew to be the largest domestic shipping company in the Philippines, with a fleet of 22 passenger and cargo vessels and a market share of 20 percent of domestic sea traffic in the Philippines in 1988. The company experienced multiple marine disasters, including the 1987 sinking of the '' Doña Paz'', the sinking of the '' Doña Marilyn'' in 1988, the sinking of the '' Princess of the Orient'' in 1998, and the 2008 sinking of the '' Princess of The Stars'' during the occurrence of '' Typhoon Fengshen'' (

PAGASA The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog language, Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS ...

name: Frank). In 2009, the PSACC adopted its current name discontinuing the use of "Sulpicio Lines to refer to the company. PSACC MV Span Asia 21

In January 2015, almost 7 years after the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars, the Maritime Industry Authority decided to revoke the company's certificate of public convenience (CPC), which meant that the company could no longer legally transport passengers. The

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

, in a 237-page

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

dated June 28, 2024, written by Justice Wilhelmina Jorge-Wagan, held that Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation formerly Sulpicio Lines, Inc. was guilty of

gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross neg ...

and consequently liable for the deaths of 814 passengers and 500 missing in the 2008 MV Princess of the Stars

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

. In upholding the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Regional Trial Court Branch 49's judgment, the CA ordered PSACC owners Enrique Go, Eusebio Go, Carlos Go, Victoriano Go, Dominador Go, Ricardo Go, Edward Go and Edgar Go, to pay a total of P129,854,502.57 damages to the victims' heirs, survivors, families and relatives, represented by counsel Persida Acosta.

Ports of Call

Philippine Span Asia Carrier's main ports of call are the cities of

and

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

. Other ports of call are: *

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...

Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...

Dipolog Dipolog (), officially the City of Dipolog (; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dipuleg/Bagbenwa Dipuleg''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, prov ...

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

* Davao *

General Santos General Santos, officially the City of General Santos and abbreviated as GenSan, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Soccsksargen, Philippines. According to ...

* Iligan *

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

* Nasipit,

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan (; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; ), is a highly urbanized city and the regional center of Caraga, Philippines. It is the '' de facto'' capital of the province of Agusan del Norte ...

* Ozamiz *

Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon language, Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in th ...

* Surigao *

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

Tagbilaran Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

* Zamboanga

Current Fleet

PSACC once had passenger RoRo (Roll on - Roll off) vessels. However, because of their disreputable public image after a series of ferry disasters, PSACC has been banned from carrying passengers and is currently limited to cargo shipping. As of , PSACC has 17 vessels. Currently PSACC is undergoing a fleet modernization program to replace old vessels with new ones.

*Span Asia 12 * Span Asia 25 *Span Asia 31 *Span Asia 37 *Span Asia 39 *Span Asia 50 *Span Asia 51 *Span Asia 52 *Span Asia 53 *Span Asia 55 *Span Asia 59 *Span Asia 70 *Span Asia 71 *Span Asia 72 *Span Asia 73 *Span Asia 75 *Span Asia 79

Former Fleet

This list includes all of the ships that were part of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Inc. and Sulpicio Lines:

Roll on/Roll off (RORO)

* Princess of The Stars (capsized & sunk in 2008 near San Fernando, Romblon, with the loss over 800 lives. Was later broken up in Navotas, Former Flagship 2004 - 2008) * Princess of the Orient (sunk near Batangas during a typhoon in 1998, over 70 died, with almost 80 people missing, Former Flagship 1993 - 1998) *Cotabato Princess (sold & broken-up in Villono Shipyard) *Nasipit Princess (sold & broken-up) *Filipina Princess (sold to breakers in China, Former Flagship 1988 - 1993) *Manila Princess (sold and broken up) *Princess of The Paradise (sold to breakers in China) *Princess of The Ocean (sold to breakers in China) *Princess of The Pacific (sold & broken-up) *Princess of New Unity (sold & broken-up sometime in the 2000s) *Princess of the World (caught fire in Zamboanga) *Princess of The Universe (sold to breakers in India, Former Flagship 1998 - 2004) *Princess of The South (sold & broken-up, Former Flagship 2008 - 2014) *Princess of the Earth (Sold to Trans-Asia Shipping as Trans Asia 10) *Cagayan Princess (sold to Roble Shipping Inc. as M/V ''Theresian Stars'') *Cebu Princess (sold to Roble Shipping Inc. as M/V ''Joyful Stars'') *Tacloban Princess (sold & caught fire, later declared a total loss) *Surigao Princess (sold and broken up)

Cruisers

* Doña Paz (formerly called Don Sulpicio, caught fire after colliding with an oil tanker, resulting in over 4000 lives lost: the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history superseding the

Sinking of the Titanic Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' sank on 15 April 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, USA with ...

7 decades prior) * Doña Marilyn (formerly called Doña Ana, sank October 24, 1988 in Typhoon Ruby, known as Unsang in the Philippines. 391 dead or missing; 300 survivors) *Philippine Princess (caught fire in 1997, later broken-up, Former Flagship 1984 - 1988) *Princess of The Caribbean (sold to breakers in China) *Iloilo Princess (formerly called Don Enrique and Davao Princess sunk in Pier 7, sold & broken-up) *Palawan Princess (sold & broken-up) *Dipolog Princess (sold to breakers in China)

Other Vessels

*Don Alberto *Don Manuel *Don Enrique *Don Carlos *Don Camillo *Don Lorenzo *Don Alfredo *Doña Vicenta *Doña Gloria *Doña Pamela *Doña Angelina

Cargo Vessels

*Span Asia 1 *Span Asia 2 *Span Asia 3 *Span Asia 5 *Span Asia 7 *Span Asia 9 *Span Asia 10 *Span Asia 11 *Span Asia 14 *Span Asia 15 *Span Asia 16 *Span Asia 17 (Former name MV Sulpicio Express Siete. Was involved in a collision with the ferry MV St. Thomas Aquinas on August 16, 2013) *Span Asia 19 *Span Asia 20 *Span Asia 21 *Span Asia 22 *Span Asia 23 *Span Asia 27 *Span Asia 29 *Span Asia 30 *Span Asia 32 *Span Asia 33 *Span Asia 35 *Sulpicio Express Uno *Sulpicio Container I *Sulpicio Container II *Sulpicio Container III *Sulpicio Container IV *Sulpicio Container V *Sulpicio Container VII *Sulpicio Container VIII *Sulpicio Container IX *Sulpicio Container X *Sulpicio Container XI *Sulpicio Container XII *Sulpicio Container XIV *Sulpicio Container XV

Tugboats

*Edmund *Sulpicio Tug

References

{{Transportation in the Philippines Ferries of the Philippines Shipping companies of the Philippines Transportation in Mindanao Transportation in Cebu Transportation in the Visayas Companies based in Cebu City 1973 establishments in the Philippines