Oil spill from sunken ship in Cebu spreads to 5 villages in Cordova

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The oil spill from the MV St. Thomas Aquinas, the passenger vessel of 2Go that sank Friday evening after it collided with a cargo vessel, has affected five villages of Cordova town in Cebu province.

Of the five villages, three, identified as Gabi, Catarman and Day-as, were badly affected, a press release from Dr. Isabelo Montejo, the executive director of the Region 7 office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, stated.  The other two affected villages were Buagsong and Basbas of Cordova.

A boy (bottom left) holds two oil-coated bagasi, salt water eels, which thrives in Cordova town, Mactan Island Cebu. Oil spill is seen in the waters near the shore of Mactan Isldan. Photo from the Office of Cebu Rep. Luigi Quisumbing

Based on the inspection conducted by DENR, the oil spill is going towards the north east.

Montejo urged the community to help in the cleanup to prevent severe damage to the marine ecosystem in the seawaters off the barangays.

The Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas had collected water samples in four sites within the accident area for oil and grease test.

Montejo also assigned a team composed of personnel from the Coastal Marine Management Division of the Protected Area, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Services and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office of Cebu City to assess the extent of damage to mangroves in the area.

On the other hand, 2Go in a press statement assured the public that they were doing their best to handle the oil spill that had also affected the shoreline of Talisay City and other areas.

The company had engaged the services of Malayan Towage, four Japanese technical divers and expert from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd. (ITOPF).

The Malayan Towage’s tugboats and the Japanese technical divers will help contain the oil spill spreading from Lawis Ledge.

On the other hand, the 2Go said in a statement that the expert from the ITOPF would be  flying in to Cebu to help assess the situation.

The MV St. Thomas Aquinas had 20,000 liters of diesel, 120,000 liters of bunker or crude oil and 20,000 liters of lube oil. 2Go also said that the ferry was not carrying any dangerous goods when it sank.

Meanwhile, Cordova was declared under a state of calamity on Monday because the oil spill has affected the livelihood of its fishermen.

According to fishermen in the area, all their catch were coated with oil that it can no longer be sold or eaten. The town will use its calamity fund to provide assistance to the fishermen and their families.

Mayor Adelino Sitoy of Cordova, the Philippine Coast Guard, 2GO management, and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III will meet to come up with an action plan to stop the oil spill.