Another fuel tanker sinks in Manila Bay

MANILA, Philippines — Another fuel tanker, identified as the “MTKR Jason Bradley,” sank in shallow waters off Mariveles, Bataan, on Saturday afternoon as salvage operations on the sunken Terra Nova, which is still carrying its cargo of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel, was postponed, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday.

According to the PCG, the Jason Bradley was reported to have no cargo on board, but PCG divers found fuel leaks on the vessel and an undetermined amount of diesel.

The PCG said divers have sealed the leaks found on the vessel and were awaiting the arrival of more equipment.

READ: Sunken oil tanker starts to leak cargo

“The PCG response team is working on properly removing the diesel cargo with the help of a contracted salvor,” the PCG said, adding that it will investigate the circumstances around the sinking after recovering the cargo.

The oil tanker sank Saturday afternoon in waters nine meters deep off Barangay Cabcaben, just half a kilometer from the shore and just two days after the sinking of the Terranova on July 25.

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

Experienced in oil spills

On Sunday, the PCG said the contracted salvor, Harbor Star Shipping Services, was supposed to start siphoning the Terra Nova’s cargo, but it was postponed after divers found nine more leaking valves that had to be sealed.

“An order was given to seal the valves first before the start of the siphoning operations in order to prevent more leakages,” PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said on Sunday.

Divers were aiming to finish sealing the valves by Monday, Balilo said, when the weeklong siphoning process can start.

Harbor Star was hired by Terra Nova owner, Shogun Ships Co. Inc., under a “no cure, no pay” contract, which means Harbor Star will not be paid if it fails to fulfill the terms of the contract.

Harbor Star, a stock exchange listed company, was one of the salvors involved in the cleanup of the MT Princess Empress oil spill off Mindoro last year, tagged as the worst in the country.

The Princess Empress was carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel when it sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, on Feb. 23, 2023.

Both the Princess Empress and the Terra Nova were chartered to carry industrial fuel from Limay to Iloilo City by the SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp., a subsidiary of the San Miguel Corp., the largest conglomerate in the country.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has generated a map showing the extent of the possible oil spill in Manila Bay.

As of July 27, the map indicates that the oil spill may cover an area of approximately 68.01 square kilometers, a significant increase from PhilSA’s July 26 estimate of 14.4 square kilometers.

Fishers concerned

However, PhilSA noted that these figures are “still subject to ground validation.”

The incident has raised concerns from fisherfolk in the provinces surrounding Manila Bay.

“We haven’t fully recovered from the severe impact of Supertyphoon Carina and the current southwest monsoon,” said Richard Catenza, leader of a fishers group in Cavite.

“Fishing has been disrupted for over two months due to large waves and strong winds. We cannot endure another looming tragedy caused by this oil spill,” noting that the incident may also affect fish prices in the Manila Bay area.

Ronnel Arambulo, vice chairperson of the activist Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), criticized the government for the pace of its actions in both the Princess Empress and Terranova oil spills.

“We’ve experienced numerous oil spills before. The government should have learned how to prevent the expansion of its damage to the sea and fishers’ livelihoods,” Arambulo said.

The organization said that it is monitoring several coastal towns in Cavite that could be affected, including Tanza and Rosario, where more than 10,000 fisherfolk may be impacted.