Officials try to contain Sarangani Bay oil spill

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Authorities are rushing to contain an oil spill in Sarangani Bay that was caused by a cargo vessel that sank after it collided with another ship last Tuesday.

Cmdr. Roy Echeverria of the local Coast Guard office said the oil slick occupied a 600-suare-meter area off the village of Lumatil in Maasim, Sarangani. But other sources said the oil slick was now about three kilometers long.

Echeverria said oil from the sunken M/V Bulk Carrier I was oozing out and could threaten marine life in the area.

The M/V Bulk Carrier I was on its way to Dumaguete City to deliver grains when it collided with the Liberian-flagged HS Puccini around 7:42 p.m.

Two of M/V Bulk Carrier I’s 23-man crew are feared to have drowned, Their bodies have not been found.

Echeverria said marine environmental protection personnel from the Coast Guard had been sent to the area to contain the oil slick, which continues to spread.

He said Coast Guard personnel equipped with spill booms and oil spill containment and recovery materials were temporarily stationed at the accident site to monitor and contain the spill.

Sarangani Bay is considered one of Mindanao’s major fishing grounds and is the site of Bakud Reef, a protected area.

“Initially, my men sprayed dispersant to minimize the volume of fuel spreading towards the shoreline,” Echeverria said.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and other marine regulatory agencies have started an investigation into the collision.

“We will request that while under investigation MV HS Puccini should be detained in General Santos,” he said.

Pedrito Serencio, captain of the Bulk Carrier I, told reporters said their vessel was rammed by the HS Puccini amid heavy rains.

“The bigger vessel hit the side of our vessel, our engine room,” he said. “We heard no siren. There was zero visibility. I did not see any light.”

He said some of his men panicked, and others were thrown overboard because of the impact of the collision.

Tuesday’s collision was the second sea disaster in Sarangani Bay this year.

In May, the MV Double Prosperity, which was transporting 66,000 tons of coal to India from Australia, ran aground on the Bakud Reef.

Meanwhile, in Cotabato City, two school children were missing after a motorized banca capsized in the Lugay-lugay River last Tuesday, the chief of the city’s disaster and risk management office said.

Quoting relatives of the victims, Sam Mundas said the children were among the passengers of the overloaded pumpboat, which capsized after hitting a concrete column of  a  bridge. The vessel came from Bongo Island in Parang, Maguindanao.

In Sarangani, Davao del Sur, local authorities were continuing the search for three fishermen  missing since their boat sank in the sea off Balut Island on Wednesday.

SP04 Delfin Sariol of the Sarangani town police said the missing fishermen were all residents of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

(With reports from Charlie Señase, Orlando Dinoy and Eldie Aguirre, Inquirer Mindanao)