Oil spill at La Union cleaned up—Coast Guard

The spill of some 10,000 liters of automotive diesel oil into the sea due to a leak in a pipeline in La Union on Tuesday has been contained, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday.

PCG Northern Luzon District commandant Captain George Ursabia Jr. told reporters that Coast Guard personnel were deployed to the Poro Point Pier in the provincial capital San Fernando City to monitor efforts by the oil companies involved—Chevron and Shell Philippines—to clean up the spill.

According to initial reports reaching the PCG headquarters in Manila, the Chevron Bulk Plant had been receiving diesel fuel from the motor tanker MT Panglao Island for two hours on Tuesday when operations personnel detected a leak in the pipeline at around 10 a.m., prompting them to halt the fuel transfer.

Chevron was supposed to receive a total of 2,000 liters of diesel from the Panglao Island.

The slick from the spill reached 800 meters long and 100 meters wide, according to Ursabia. In the early stages of the anti-spill operation, the PCG official added, the area was heavily contaminated with oil so they laid down a 400-meter-long boom to contain the oil.

“It can be postulated that the said oil spill was harmful to the marine environment; it was not that alarming considering the characteristic of the diesel oil and its estimated spilled volume, which would easily evaporate and disperse,” he said.

As of 9 p.m. of Wednesday, Chevron reportedly declared to have completed the cleanup operations. But the PCG and the city government of San Fernando have yet to assess the situation and determine if indeed the oil spill has been contained to their satisfaction.

Ursabia said there would be an investigation as to who would be made accountable for the incident and so that it would not be repeated.

“Chevron is the spiller while Shell is the administrator or in charge of the maintenance of the pipeline. But even if Shell is in charge of maintenance, Chevron should have first checked on the integrity of the pipeline before using it,” he said.

Apart from the PCG, other government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources would also conduct their own investigation.

The quality of the water and the aquatic life in the area, particularly seaweeds and fishes, would be tested.

Originally posted at 07:11 pm | Thursday, February 23,  2012