Destruction of coral reefs feared as oil tanker runs aground in Pangasinan

STUCK A Hong Kong-registered oil tanker is stuck in a reef area in Bolinao, Pangasinan, as local officials remain on alert to contain a possible oil spill. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BOLINAO PNP

DAGUPAN CITY, Pangsinan, Philippines — Environment and local officials on Tuesday said they were closely monitoring a reef area in Bolinao town, Pangasinan province, for possible damage after a foreign oil tanker ran aground there on Sunday.

Mayor Alfonso Celeste said the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) had started assessing the fossil and live corals some 500 meters from Patar Beach where the Hong Kong-registered Chemitec oil tanker was stranded due to engine failure.The vessel was transporting raw petroleum products from Brunei to China when it hit the fossil corals at 8 p.m., Celeste said, citing a report from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The tanker has 26 crew members, 23 of whom are Chinese while three are Myanmar nationals.

“The tanker must pay for whatever damage it incurred after running aground at the coral areas,” Celeste told the Inquirer by phone.

He said the oil tanker remained grounded on the breakwater situated in a popular snorkeling and swimming area.

“The breakwater protects the town from storm surges and tsunami. Once the corals are destroyed, there would be disastrous effects on the town during calamities,” Celeste said.

According to him, the result of the EMB’s initial assessment of the coral reefs will be sent to the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) for evaluation.

The UPMSI maintains a marine laboratory in Bolinao.

A containment boom has been placed around the tanker in case of oil spill, said lawyer Ayar Montemayor, secretary of the town council.

PCG divers said there were still no signs of oil spill on Tuesday.

Maj. Dennis Cabigat, Bolinao police chief, said personnel of the Philippine National Police Maritime Group and the Philippine Navy were sent to Patar Beach to inspect the vessel.

Cabigat said they were waiting for documents from the vessel’s owner before they could start boarding the tanker for inspection.

“There’s no oil spill yet … [but] we already have a towing and salvage team [in the area],” he said.

Montemayor said once the tanker had been removed from the area, there would be another assessment on the coral reefs.

Quarantine inspectors had been sent to check the vessel while an interagency investigation headed by the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Customs was underway.