Sunken oil tanker starts to leak cargo

PRESIDENT’S VIEW This Palace press office photo shows what President Marcos saw during an aerial inspection on July 27.

MANILA, Philippines – The oil tanker Terra Nova has started to leak, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday, raising fears of what may become the worst oil spill in the country’s maritime history.

The Terra Nova, owned by Shogun Ships Co. Inc., was carrying more than 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel when she sank in rough waters about 7 kilometers east of Limay, Bataan, on Thursday.

“There is a minimal leak seen on the valve of the oil tanker, but it is not yet alarming,” said Rear Adm. Armand Balilo, spokesperson for the PCG.

READ: 1 dead, oil spill feared after tanker capsized in Bataan waters

But the “minimal leak,” Balilo conceded, has discharged enough industrial fuel to cover an area of 14.4 square kilometers from a slick 3.7 kilometers long on Thursday, according to the Philippine Space Agency.

Still, Balilo maintained that the leak was “manageable” since the cargo tank has remained intact.

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

“Hopefully, it will stay like that until we can start siphoning tomorrow (Sunday),” he said, adding that the salvor was already in the area and was just awaiting the arrival of a “sister vessel” that would carry the recovered oil.

Balilo did not identify the PCG-contracted salvor, but the cargo is owned by SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Inc. and the ship is managed by Portavaga Ship Management, which took responsibility for the Terra Nova’s crew of 17, including one who was found dead in the bay hours after the sinking.

Change of direction

On Friday, Balilo said the oil spill was moving northeast, but changed its direction to southwest on Saturday, which could possibly affect the towns of Naic in Cavite, Nasugbu in Batangas, and Mariveles in Bataan.

He also confirmed that an oil sheen has reached the coast of Bulacan, but hoped that this would eventually “dissipate under the heat of the sun.”

He called for a suspension of fishing in Manila Bay, which would affect fishers in Metro Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, and Bataan, to prevent people eating “contaminated fish.”

The PCG has already deployed some floating barriers and oil dispersants to contain the oil spill as ordered on Saturday by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who ordered agencies to cooperate in making oil spill booms made of indigenous materials, like coconut coir.

Marcos saw for himself on Saturday the oil slick that was moving toward Bulacan when he flew over the area to assess the damage of the bad weather.

“Let’s get started. We know how to make those,” the President said in Malolos City in Bulacan on the third day of inspections of the damage caused by the southwest monsoon, enhanced by Supertyphoon Carina.

Use our coconuts

Marcos created an inter-agency task force to mitigate the effects of the oil slick, with the Office of Civil Defense as the lead agency.

“Let’s get all the commercial booms we can get, I’m sure there will be offers, but it’s not going to be enough,” he added.

Similar coconut coir booms were made by residents of Oriental Mindoro in February last year because of the oil spill from the MT Princess Empress that sank off the town of Naujan.

The President noted that commercial oil spill booms were expensive and suggested that the government’s cash-for-work programs be tapped in getting residents to help make the indigenous booms.

“Our immediate concern is to have those booms, those made from indigenous materials. Hopefully, we won’t have to use them … The important thing is to install them as soon as we can,” he said.

Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said they were monitoring the situation, but did not specify whether funds have already been allocated for affected fisherfolk who have already been barred from setting out to sea.

“We are on the lookout now for the possible contamination that could happen in the wetlands in the coastline areas, not just of Bataan. But we are also looking at Bulacan, Pampanga, and possibly Cavite because of Corregidor,” she said.

“We have cordoned off the area,” said PCG chief Admiral Ronnie Gavan. “We have oil spill booms and the spraying of dispersants has been ongoing. The objective is still very clear as ordered by the President: we will prevent oil spill from hitting land.”