Philippines ‘prepares for worst’ after oil spill
The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed floating barriers and initiated an oil spill cleanup to prevent it from reaching Manila.
Authorities are urgently addressing the oil spill from the 65-meter (213-foot) MT Terra Nova, which capsized on Thursday during heavy monsoon rains.
The leak appears to be coming from the ship’s engine rather than its cargo tank, which holds nearly 1.5 million liters of industrial fuel, according to officials.
There are concerns that the spill, spanning several kilometers, could become the worst in the country’s history if not contained.
Coast guard videos show personnel siphoning oil from the water using buckets.
“We are preparing for the worst,” said Rear Admiral Armand Balilo, the coast guard spokesman.
The area is popular with fishermen, raising concerns about potential impacts on the fishing industry and marine life.
“This industrial fuel will definitely affect the marine environment and could even reach Manila,” Rear Adm Balilo added.
Hernando Bacosa, an environmental sciences expert at Mindanao State University, told the BBC that the amount of oil on the MT Terra Nova justifies issuing the country’s highest oil spill alert.
“Manila Bay is home to the Port of Manila, the largest port in the Philippines and a center of trade and economic activity. This spill could potentially paralyze the capital and surrounding areas,” he said.
Rear Adm Balilo estimated it would take a week to drain the oil from the ship, which capsized in waters 34 meters (111 feet) deep, based on initial assessments.
However, Mr Bacosa said the relatively shallow terrain could make it easier to siphon oil from the sea.
He compared it with an incident last year where an oil tanker sank off the coast of another Philippine province at a depth of almost 400 metres (1,312 feet) – stating that the deep waters made it more different to clean up the oil.
The MT Princess Empress had been carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil – coating beaches in black sludge when it spilt.
The monsoon rains, which were worsened by Typhoon Gaemi, have delayed the coast guard’s response and caused widespread flooding across Metro Manila and its suburbs.
But the storm has since subsided as the typhoon moved across Taiwan’s mountainous region and made landfall in the south-eastern Chinese province of Fujian.
The MT Terra Nova was one of two ships which sank in the region during the typhoon, with the second going down just off Taiwan’s south-western coast.
It was heading for the central Philippine city of Iloilo when it sank, with 17 crew members on board.
One died, but 16 were rescued, officials said. Authorities are investigating whether bad weather was a factor.
The Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova was found to have met regulations around travelling in heavy weather.
It was sailing towards the central Iloilo city at a speed of 0.1 nautical miles per hour, according to tracking provider VesselFinder.
Rear Adm Balilo said that no storm signals were issued when the ship set sail.
He added that crew members had secured its doors before jumping into the sea.
“They felt that the waves were really strong. The captain decided to return to shore, but it was difficult because they are sailing against the waves. They said the ship scooped up water until it eventually capsized,” Rear Adm Balilo said.
Advocacy group Oceana has called on the Philippine government to assess the environmental impact of the oil spill, adding that “all those responsible for failing to prevent this tragedy – from concerned government agencies to private owners of the tanker – should be held accountable”.
