Oil leaks again from Nokor ship

LAOAG CITY, Philippines—Small amounts of oil again leaked from a North Korean vessel stuck near the shoreline of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, while salvage operations were ongoing on Tuesday, reports from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday.

The PCG said oil traces were found along the shores of Blue Lagoon cove or 5 kilometers from the wreck. The cove is a popular tourist destination in the village of Balaoi.

Reports said waves and sea current washed down the slick from the vicinity of the wreck to the shores of Blue Lagoon.

Capt. George Ursabia, PCG district commander in Northern Luzon, said the oil residue seeped from one of the vessel’s fuel tanks when the salvor, Pen Con Co., started cutting the vessel’s top side.

He said, however, that cleanup operations were quickly done and “there were no more traces of residue.”

It was the second seepage from the wreck since March 31 when bunker oil leaked from a pipe in the vessel’s engine room.

Ursabia said while most of the contents of the oil tanks were already removed, there are still small quantities of oil “that could not be drained.”

He said the residue must be handled carefully during the salvage operations.

The PCG has suspended salvaging operations until the salvor could install the containment device.

Ursabia said the salvor had refused to install the spill-control device since it started salvaging the vessel in early March.

The vessel had been sitting on Pagudpud shores since January last year after it developed engine trouble when it sailed through turbulent waters. It left the port of Aparri in Cagayan on Dec. 31, 2009, and was bound for China.

Bunker fuel started seeping from the wreck in October last year at the height of Typhoon “Juan” which battered the Ilocos.

The ship was carrying magnetite ore or black sand extracted from Cagayan. It is owned by Oyang Marine Co. and registered under the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.