Cavite gov’t readies suit vs sunken tanker owner

CONTAINMENT WORK CONTINUES PCG vessels, on Aug. 2, continue to secure the second layer spill boom and apply oil dispersant in the area where fuel tanker MT Terranova sank on July 25 in the waters off Limay, Bataan. The tanker was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel and caused a spill that has spread to various coastal areas along Manila Bay, including Cavite. —PCG Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla announced that the provincial government is preparing criminal cases against the owner of the fuel tanker MT Terranova that sank in Bataan and caused an oil spill that reached coastal communities in the province.

“We will file charges against the owner of the tanker so we could claim damages for what happened to our coastal areas in Cavite,” Remulla told an assembly of affected fishermen during a relief distribution in Noveleta town on Saturday.

“We are creating a plan so that everyone who was affected, every resident who had problems due to the oil spill, will receive proper compensation from the shipowner,” Remulla said.

READ: Fishermen struggle as Bataan oil spill disrupts livelihoods

The video of the distribution event and Remulla’s speech was posted on social media by Cavite-based journalists who recorded it.

MT Terranova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel, sank in the waters off Limay town in Bataan on July 25, during the onslaught of Supertyphoon Carina (international name: Gaemi).

The vessel was chartered to carry the fuel from Limay to Iloilo City by SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp., a subsidiary of the San Miguel Corp., the largest conglomerate in the country.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reported that the oil that leaked from the tanker has spread across the waters off provinces surrounding Manila Bay, including Cavite, adding it has been working round the clock to contain the spill.

Incidentally, SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp. was also the chartered carrier of MT Princess Empress, that sank in the waters off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28 last year while loaded with some 800,000 liters of industrial fuel. The incident, considered the first marine environmental crisis under the Marcos administration, caused a massive oil spill that affected coastal areas and thousands of fisherfolk in Oriental Mindoro and Batangas, both of which are within the Verde Island Passage (VIP), as well as those in Antique and Palawan provinces.

Known as the “center of global shorefish biodiversity” due to the high densities of marine resources, the VIP is a 1.14-million-hectare marine ecosystem located off the coastlines of Batangas, Romblon, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro provinces.

State of calamity

Last Wednesday, the Cavite provincial government declared a state of calamity in the cities of Cavite and Bacoor and the municipalities of Noveleta, Rosario, Kawit, Tanza, Naic, Maragondon and Ternate affected by Terranova’s oil spill.

A declaration of a state of calamity allows the concerned local governments to quickly access emergency funds and implement relief operations for affected residents.

Remulla prohibited the catching and selling of all marine products from the affected areas to prevent oil contamination.

An estimated 352,179 residents in the coastal barangays of Cavite were affected by the oil spill, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon).

“Some 25,145 fisherfolk were also affected, with an estimated loss of income amounting to P17,952,775 per day and predictably, in 22 days, a total of P394,961,064,” the RDRRMC said in a report.

On July 27, another tanker, the MTKR Jason Bradley, also capsized due to bad weather in the waters off Bataan.

Days later, on July 31, another vessel, the MV Mirola 1, which was carrying diesel oil, ran aground in shallow waters off the coast of Bataan’s Mariveles town, causing the ship to tip over.

The PCG said it was on the lookout for possible oil slicks from MV Mirola 1.

Class suit

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Friday that a class suit was being eyed against those responsible for the three recent maritime mishaps in Bataan.

“We’re looking into the angle of class suit already against the owners, and others who may be responsible for this,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary told journalists.

The DOJ has tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation into the incidents.