Over 1 million liters of oily waste taken from sunken tanker off Bataan

DELAYED BUT ALMOST DONE Siphoning of industrial fuel from MTKR Terranova off the coast of Bataan. — File photo from RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — More than one million liters of oily waste have been collected from the motor tanker (MTKR) Terranova between August 19 and 31, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday.

As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, the PCG reported that MTKR Terranova’s contracted salvor, Harbor Star, gathered a total 1,032,557 liters of oily waste during this period.

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The PCG stated that Harbor Star deployed additional pumps, noting that the rate of oily wastewater flow during the August 31 operation was 18,575 liters per hour.

“The Oil Spill Response Team (OSRT) monitored the transfer of oily waste at Orion Dockyard, and no leaks were observed during the operation,” the PCG said.

“As of yesterday, 346,000 liters of oily wastewater were loaded onto trucks at Orion Shipyard for transport to a waste management facility in Marilao, Bulacan, for proper disposal,” it added.

The BRP Panglao (FPB-2402) conducted an aerial surveillance at the site.

Meanwhile, the contracted salvor of MTKR Jason Bradley, FES Challenger, continued its re-sealing and patching operations of the vessel’s manhole and air vents.

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“The Oil Spill Response Team (OSRT) patrolled the coastline and observed no oil sheen,” said the PCG.

MTKR Terranova and MTKR Jason Bradley sank off Bataan on July 25 and July 27.