AS the search continues for four missing Filipino seafarers in the West Philippine Sea, veteran mariners are raising a red flag over the cargo that may have doomed the Singapore-flagged MV Devon Bay.
The vessel, manned by an all-Filipino crew of 21, capsized and sank 141 nautical miles west of Pangasinan near Scarborough Shoal on the night of Jan. 23, 2026.
While 17 crew members were pulled from the water by the China Coast Guard, two were found dead, with four others missing — the ship captain included — leaving a maritime community demanding answers.
While initial manifests listed the cargo as iron ore, industry experts and a separate news article from Seatrade Maritime suggest a more volatile reality: the vessel’s last port of call was Capunan Port in Zamboanga, a private facility primarily associated with nickel ore projects. For seasoned mariners, this distinction is the difference between a stable voyage and a trap.
According to Captain Edgardo Flores, a maritime consultant and former shipmaster, the culprit is likely liquefaction — a phenomenon where solid mineral cargo transforms into a shifting liquid state.
“There is a major issue with the liquefaction of iron or nickel ore,” Flores explained. “If the moisture content exceeds the Transportable Moisture Limit (TML), the cargo behaves like mud. When the ship vibrates or rolls with the waves, that ‘mud’ shifts to one side, causing the ship to list and, in the worst cases, capsize almost instantly.”
The same was stated by Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan. He said that initial findings suggest that the liquefaction of cargo and bad weather caused the vessel to capsize.
Nickel ore is considered a High Risk (Group A) cargo under the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code. The danger often hides beneath the surface; while the top layer of a stockpile may look dry, heavy tropical rains at loading ports can leave the core dangerously saturated.
The main danger is stability. When such cargoes dissolve into a slush, the ship loses its ability to right itself. This phenomenon is considered a silent killer that has claimed many ships from tropical countries.
This was echoed by Chief Engineer Mark Phillip Laurilla, a seasoned seafarer with 15 years of sailing experience on bulk carriers. He is also a training manager of Philcamsat.
Laurilla said MV Devon Bay’s sinking was not an accident, but a tragedy waiting to happen.
“Cargo liquefaction is a plausible contributing mechanism in bulk carrier capsizing incidents, particularly when the cargo is moisture-sensitive and unsafe moisture limits may have been exceeded.
“However, confirmation depends on the final cargo classification, moisture testing records, terminal controls, and investigation findings. Commercial pressure is also a recognized risk factor in bulk cargo operations and may contribute to unsafe decision-making where schedule demands, demurrage exposure, or commercial expectations conflict with cargo safety requirements. If moisture limits are exceeded, accepting or loading such cargo — regardless of operational urgency — can increase the risk of liquefaction and loss of stability.
“In any case, influence of commercial pressure must likewise be supported by evidence such as documented communications, photos of the cargo during loading, verified testing records, and ultimately confirmed by the investigation findings,” Laurilla said.
Given the volatile nature of MV Devon Bay’s cargo and its presumed cause in the tragic sinking of the vessel and death of seafarers, maritime experts are now questioning whether the liability lies with the ship captain, the charterer, or the Coast Guard.
“Is it the charterer who is supposed to provide the ship captain with the TML, prior to the loading of cargoes? Or the ship captain who failed to exercise his authority by refusing to sail? Or is it the Coast Guard who issued a sailing permit that indicated that the vessel is seaworthy prior to sailing?” Flores reflected.
For the families of the 21 Filipinos aboard the MV Devon Bay, however, the technical debate over the cause of sinking is now a painful backdrop to a human tragedy.