The Navy said Sunday there has been no more sighting of possible survivors from the December 24 collision of a passenger vessel, the MB Cathalyn B, and the fishing boat FV Anatalia, off Limbones Island in Cavite.

At least three people were confirmed dead while 24 remained missing in the incident that occurred just before dawn on Christmas eve.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said PS32, the lead vessel in the ongoing search and rescue operations for passengers of another inter-island ferry that sank off Verde Island in Batangas Saturday night, passed by the site of the MB Cathalyn B-FV Anatalia collision.

“As of 11 a.m., PS 32, the lead vessel, has passed by the Dec. 24 collision area up to Fortune Island. Negative sightings of survivor from MB Cathalyn B,” Arevalo said in a text message.

On Saturday, the Navy and the Coast Guard shifted its efforts for the Christmas eve tragedy from search and rescue to search and retrieval after efforts to find more survivors from the tragedy proved futile.

“Yung ating ginagawa search-and-rescue ang initial. Subali't sa ngayon medyo masakit sa kalooban, considering the fact ilang araw lumiliit ang chance na makakita tayo ng pasahero, we are now on more or less search and retrieval," Arevalo said Saturday.

The Navy spokesman, however, said search efforts were extended beyond the scene of the incident in the hope to find more survivors.

Arevalo said Navy search and rescue response teams were immediately alerted to a disaster call from the collision northwest of Limbones Island in Cavite on Dec. 24.

He said a Naval Disaster Response Task Unit-National Capital Region was organized to formally undertake the search and rescue mission headed by Commo. Jose Miguel Rodriguez.

After the Christmas eve sea tragedy, Navy and Coast Guard personnel again conducted another search for survivors in the latest sea mishap involving a roll-on, roll off (RORO) vessel in Batangas.

“After four days of aerial search by Philippine Navy Islanders and two days of sea surface search for missing passengers by four Navy ships, we have yet to see survivors from Cathalyn-B.
Accounts from survivors that the ship capsized in less than two minutes reinforces our apprehensions that those 21 missing could have gone down with the ship,” Arevalo said.

“We are hoping otherwise in the case of the reported 22 still missing among the 70 reported passengers of MB Baleno,” he added, noting that per report of the Coast Guard, there were 70 passengers and 18 crew members on board the MB Baleno.

Another report said the site of the sunken Cathalyn-B ferry has been located.

Seawoman First Class Doris Joy Villegas said Coast Guard personnel are working full-time on the search and rescue of the passengers of both Cathalyn-B and Baleno 9.

“We have enough personnel and equipment. Search and rescue operations are ongoing in the Cavite and Batangas seas,” said Villegas.

The Coast Guard public information office also said that there was a breakthrough in the Cavite incident following a report that the Cathalyn-B sink area has been located.

“We received a report at 11:30 a.m. (Sunday) about the Cathalyn-B. The report said there were hints that Catalyn-B is in the area surveilled,” said Villegas.

The PIO said that it may take time for the Cathalyn-B to be lifted as the vessel is under the deep sea.

"Cathalyn-B is under a depth of 200 meters or more," it said.