Together with an oil spill boom and skimmer, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was around the suspected area of the sunken oil tanker MT Princess Empress at the northeast of Balingawan Port, Lucta Port, and Buloc Bay in Oriental Mindoro on March 14, 2023. (Photo from the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. via Philippine Coast Guard
MANILA, Philippines — The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) plans to release P33 million from its oil pollution management fund (OPMF) this week to finance the oil spill cleanup in Oriental Mindoro after an oil tanker capsized in the area.
Sharon Aledo, legal services director of Marina, told reporters on Monday they were just awaiting the signatures of the OPMF committee members for the disbursement.
The fund was requested by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which is leading the cleanup, via a letter request to Marina on March 10.
The money will be spent on equipment and other supplies, such as personal protective equipment, needed for the operation, Aledo shared.
As of end-February, the OPMF stood at P70 million, Aledo said.
The OPMF is a revolving fund established by the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007. The fund is comprised of “contributions of owners and operators of tankers and barges hauling oil and for petroleum products in Philippine waterways and coastwise shipping routes.”
The MT Princess Empress was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil when it sank off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, on Feb. 28.
The PCG recently reported that it had recovered 6,804 liters of oily water mixture and 65 sacks of oil-contaminated materials during its offshore operations from March 1 to March 17.