Barge with 6,705MT of coal stuck in Antique waters at ‘Seniang’ height

ILOILO CITY—An alert has been raised over the possible contamination of the waters off Antique province by a cargo of more than 6,000 metric tons of coal in a barge that ran aground on Tuesday at the height of Tropical Depression “Seniang.”

Broderick Train, executive officer of the Antique provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, said his office had asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to monitor and give a risk assessment on the possibility of the coal shipment spilling into the water.

Commodore Athelo Ybañez, Coast Guard Western Visayas chief, said the Coast Guard is also checking reports that coal had already spilled out of the barge some 50 meters off the coast of the village of Balud in the town of Tobias Fornier.

Ybañez said the barge was carrying 6,705 metric tons of coal when it ran aground.

Train said the barge, named Brian, had been listing by nearly 45 degrees on where it ran aground. The tugboat Benny, which had been towing the barge from Semirara Island in Antique on its way to Toledo City in Cebu, also ran aground.

The vessels, both owned by the Manila-based Asian Shipping Corp., are still off the coast of Tobias Fornier as of Saturday morning.

A crew member of the tugboat, German Atay, 41, drowned when the crew members jumped off the two vessels after these ran aground. Ten other crew members of the tugboat and eight others of the barge were rescued.

Seven of them were brought to the President Diosdado Macapagal District Hospital in Tobias Fornier for treatment.

The Coast Guard identified the survivors from the tugboat as Rizal Sumalpong, Ronald Din, Michael Subsubrado, Adelo Dianan, Zaldy Tolin, Nathaniel Cuasay, Joel Compra, Chester Nadan Cantong and Raul Alvarez Isidro.

The rescued crew members of the barge included Dillo Rubite, Salde Dagon, Andre Avenido, Jomarie Bacalso, John Jerome, Rassel Acta, Gary Loyo and Arriel Querubin.

Ybañez said the tugboat and barge sought shelter from strong winds and huge waves brought by Seniang but were dragged to the shoreline.

Train, in an earlier interview, said the tugboat had experienced engine trouble.

A team from Coast Guard Western Visayas would be sent to Antique to conduct an investigation, according to Ybañez.