Over 9,000 liters of oily water collected from Oriental Mindoro oil spill – Coast Guard

Together with an oil spill boom and skimmer, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) goes around the suspected area of the sunken oil tanker MT Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro on March 14, 2023.  (Photo courtesy of: Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation via Philippine Coast Guard)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has collected over 9,000 liters of oily water during its offshore oil leak response following the massive oil spill due to the sinking of the MT Princess Empress off Oriental Mindoro last month.

In a statement on Monday, the PCG reported that it collected 900 liters of oily water mixture on March 26, bringing the total oily water mixture collection to 9,463 liters.

The total oil-contaminated materials collected offshore is now at 115 sacks.

For shoreline response, no oily water mixture was amassed on Sunday.

The PCG, however, said that it piled up 137 sacks of oil-contaminated materials along the shore, raising the total to 3,514.5 sacks.

Twenty-two drums of waste were previously collected in 13 affected barangays in the towns of Naujan, Bulalacao, and Pola in Oriental Mindoro, the PCG added.

MT Princess Empress, was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel when its sank off Oriental Mindoro on February 28, causing a huge oil spill.

Seventy coastline villages in the province have since been placed under a state of calamity.

The oil spill has likewise reached parts of Western Visayas and Palawan.

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