Oil spill from sunken tanker off Bataan may reach Manila shores – PCG

This photo from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows the sunken MT Terra Nova, which is causing a “working fuel” spill off Limay municipality in Bataan province on Thursday, July 25, 2024. MT Terra Nova was en route to Iloilo to deliver 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel when it “capsized and eventually submerged” east of Lamao Point in Limay at around 1:10 a.m. on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities are moving to contain the ensuing oil spill from the submerged Motor Tanker (MT) Terra Nova at the portion of Manila Bay off Limay municipality in Bataan province.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said Thursday that if all 1.4 million liters of fuel the vessel was carrying would seep into the sea, the oil spill may reach the shores of the country’s capital, Manila, and be the worst oil spill in the country’s history.

Currently, Balilo said that only the “working fuel” of the ship or the fuel being used by the vessel to run has leaked. He added that the working fuel spill was only “minimal.”

READ: Tanker with 1.4M liters of oil sinks off Bataan; ‘working fuel’ leaks

MT Terra Nova was en route to Iloilo to deliver the fuel when it “capsized and eventually submerged” east of Lamao Point in Limay municipality at around 1:10 a.m. on Thursday.

“Of course, there is a big danger that Manila would be affected, even the shorelines of Manila because it is within Manila Bay,” Balilo said in an online briefing when asked what would happen if all 1.4 million liters of fuel [spilled] into the sea. He noted that their contingency plan includes such a worst-case situation.

“So far, the oil spill is minimal; probably, it’s the fuel used by the ship,” Balilo also said.“I have no details as to how much is the working fuel, but it’s very minimal.”

Balilo said the PCG’s marine environmental protection personnel have also been mobilized to prevent an oil slick.

FILE PHOTO: Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Capt. Armand Balilo. INQUIRER FILES

The PCG dispatched personnel to Navotas, Bulacan, and Pampanga “to monitor and prepare for a possible oil spill,” following the sinking of the Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova. Meanwhile, its BRP Melchora Aquino has been deployed to conduct search and rescue operations.

Balilo said 16 of the 17 crew on board had been rescued and PCG personnel aboard the vessel continued to look for the missing crew member.

The biggest oil spill in the country’s history thus far happened on February 28, 2023, when MT Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel, sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The clearing of oil slicks, which reached as far as Palawan and Verde Island Passage shores in Batangas, took a few months. Thousands of fishermen also lost their livelihood due to the incident.

The Office of Civil Defense said before that the government shelled out almost P1 billion to respond to the Mindoro oil spill.

Balilo said that if all 1.4 liters of industrial fuel carried by MT Terra Nova leaked, it would beat the Oriental Mindoro incident and become the worst oil spill in the country’s history.

“We are racing against time, and we are doing our best to contain it,” he said.