Over 161,000 liters of oil extracted from sunken ship in Manila Bay

CONTAINMENT WORK CONTINUES Philippine Coast Guard (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 — Over 161,000 liters of the 1.4 million liters of oil were extracted from Motor Tanker (MT) Terra Nova, one of the three sunken ships in Manila Bay, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Friday.

In its regular update, PCG said that as of Thursday evening, a total of 161,612 liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) were collected from August 19 to 22.

On Aug. 19, a total of 2,350 liters of IFO were collected, and 36,100 liters on Aug 20.

The “full blast” siphoning of the IFO began on Aug. 21, when 42,026 liters were collected.

READ: 47,000 liters of oil collected from sunken ship in Manila Bay

The biggest amount of extracted IFO so far was seen on Aug. 22, when 81,136 liters were extracted.

PCG also said it deployed BRP Sindangan used a water cannon to “agitate the minimal oil sheen observed” during the operations.

Last July 25, MT Terranova capsized and eventually submerged off Bataan, killing a crew member.

The spillage spread up to the coasts of Manila and nearby provinces.

Aside from MT Terra Nova, two other ships also submerged in Manila Bay last month.

READ: Sunken tanker Jason Bradley allegedly involved in oil smuggling – DOJ 

MV Mirola 1 ran aground on July 31, which eventually led to its capsizing, while MT Jason Bradley sank on July 27.

PCG said MV Mirola 1 arrived and moored at the Diving Industry Shipyard in Barangay Alas-Asin Bataan’s Mariveles town for retrofitting and repair.

As for MT Jason Bradley, the contracted salvor conducted “resealing and patching of manhole and air vents of the sunken vessel in preparation for refloating operation.” —Ysabel Escalona, INQUIRER.net trainee