MANILA, PHILIPPINES - PHILIPPINES prosecutors are considering filing criminal charges against owners of a ferry that sank during a typhoon in June, resulting in almost 800 deaths, the justice secretary said on Thursday.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said a special panel of prosecutors would determine whether to file criminal and civil charges for negligence resulting in multiple homicide and serious physical injury against the officers of the Sulpicio Lines shipping firm.

The panel was examining an official investigation which reportedly concluded that the ship's captain was at fault for the capsizing of the Princess of the Stars ferry in the waters of the central Philippines on June 21, Mr Gonzalez said.

The board also said Sulpicio Lines, the ship's owner, was liable for failing to stop the captain from sailing into the typhoon.

The ferry was carrying 850 passengers and crew when it capsized off Sibuyan island. Only 57 passengers and crew survived the disaster.

The board had blamed human error but the ship's captain is missing and presumed dead.

The inquiry also recommended the Sulpicio Lines franchise be suspended but Gonzalez said it was up to Congress to revoke such franchises.

Suspending the franchise could cause economic problems for this archipelago country, he conceded.

Sulpicio vessels account for about 30 per cent of the country's merchant marine fleet and stopping them from sailing could trigger a shipping shortage, Mr Gonzalez said. -- AFP