The Philippines will send divers on Tuesday to search for the remaining missing passengers after a vessel carrying more than 300 people capsized on its way to the southern province of Sulu, killing at least 18.
Transport authorities suspended the entire passenger fleet of Aleson Shipping, the operator of the sunken vessel, noting the company has been involved in 32 maritime accidents.
The Philippine Coast Guard said 316 people had been rescued, while 10 remained missing, after the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sank shortly after midnight on Monday en route to Jolo, in Sulu.
The vessel had departed from Zamboanga and the cause of the sinking is still under investigation.
Aleson Shipping operates a network of inter-island routes across Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.
Capt Noemie Cayabyab, a representative of the coastguard, said the number of people on board had been revised to 344, down from the earlier figure of 359, after it was verified that 15 people listed on the manifest did not board the vessel. The vessel has an authorised passenger capacity of 352.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with a patchy maritime safety record
