MV Lady Mary Joy 3

MV Lady Mary Joy 3 is a passenger ferry owned and operated by Aleson Shipping Lines. Originally known as MV Daito, she was acquired by Aleson Shipping in July 2011.

Career
By the time she was commissioned for Aleson Shipping Lines, she became the regular ferry for Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu.

Following the incident involving MV Danica Joy in September 2016, the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia demanded an alternative transport for Sandakan, Malaysia to Zamboanga City knowing that the number of Filipino deportees in Sabah numbered at 7,000. At that time, MV Danica Joy was the lone ferry that served the Zamboanga City - Sandakan route and the operator, Aleson Shipping Lines was suspended for a month to operate the said route. When the suspension was lifted in November 2016, MV Lady Mary Joy 3 was temporarily assigned to ferry the deportees back to the Philippines while MV Kristel Jane 2 took the Zamboanga City - Jolo route.

2023 fire


On March 29, 2023, MV Lady Mary Joy 3 caught fire off Baluk-Baluk Island, Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan while traveling to Jolo, Sulu from Zamboanga City. The fire, which began around 10:40 p.m., lasted until 7:30 a.m. of the following day. She was towed to the province's coast and beached.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on April 5 that the ferry was carrying a total of 249 individuals; 216 of them survived. Thirty-three deaths were reported by April 13. Search, rescue, and retrieval operations became difficult due to an inaccurate manifest; as well as identification of the burned remains of the reported fatalities.

According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, the most probable cause of fire is an electric short circuit.