MANILA, Philippines — here are now two sunken motor tankers – both with oil leaks that pose a threat to the marine environment – in the waters of Bataan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.
PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said that aside from the tanker Terra Nova, which capsized 3.6 nautical miles off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan last July 25, the Coast Guard would simultaneously attend to the MT Jason Bradley, which sank in the waters off Barangay Cabcaben in Mariveles, Bataan.
The PCG is still checking if the two sinking incidents are related.
Balilo said they are still gathering information on what transpired in the sinking of the Jason Bradley. The PCG sent three 44-meter vessels and divers at 5 p.m. on Saturday to the area and confirmed the presence of the second sunken vessel.
“There is another motor tanker (the Jason Bradley) that sank off Mariveles, Bataan. We verified and conducted a diving operation, and was able to confirm that a tanker sank,” Balilo said.
He added that they have dispatched a Coast Guard ship to place oil spill booms at the site because there is already an oil sheen present.
The PCG said the Jason Bradley might not have departed from Bataan since it was not cleared by their Coast Guard station in the area. It was possible that it might have taken shelter in the area before it sank.
Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encinas, who assumed the post as the Bataan Station commander only last Saturday, previously said that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley. However, Balilo has since clarified that the ship was carrying an unknown quantity of diesel cargo.
The confusion started when an unnamed shipping company reportedly told the Coast Guard earlier that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley when the tanker sank nine meters deep in the muddy bottom, some 550 meters away from the shoreline.
The PCG has begun preparing the needed equipment for the salvaging operations. Encinas said this might take two weeks to complete.
As for the Terra Nova, that is carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO), Balilo said, “We were supposed to begin with the siphoning of the IFOs from the sunken MT Terra Nova on Sunday, but (salvor company) Harbor Star divers saw that nine valves of the MT Terra Nova were leaking.”
“Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, with the guidance of President Marcos, ordered to postpone the planned siphoning of the 1.4 million liters of IFO. We will seal the valves first before siphoning the oil cargo, this way we would be able to stop the oil tanker from leaking further,” Balilo added.
The divers worked on sealing the valves, and finished the application of the second layer of sealant at around 10:42 a.m. yesterday. They have been given until today to finish plugging the valve leaks. The siphoning would commence tomorrow.
The PCG had set a seven-day operational target to complete the siphoning.
“Our ships are there, all the equipment needed by the Harbor Star have already been prepositioned, and we know the location of the submerged ship, we just cannot proceed with the siphoning as of today. But it is just a minor leak,” he added.
The size of the oil spill, which was previously measured at 10-14 kilometers, had already been significantly reduced to three kilometers of visible oil spill, the Coast Guard official said.
This is a result of the mitigating measures that have been implemented, such as the laying down of oil spill booms and spraying with oil dispersants for easy collection.
Based on reports from the surrounding PCG stations, the oil spill has already reached Hagonoy, Bulacan and even reached the area of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.
While the wind was said to be moving in the direction of southwest last Saturday, their stations in Batangas said there was negative sighting of oil in their areas of jurisdiction. There are also no reports of affected mangroves in Pampanga.
Patches of oil were sighted in the coastal area of Barangay Pugad in Hagonoy town yesterday morning, which was confirmed by Lawrence Carlos Pinto, barangay chairman of the coastal village of Namayan in Malolos.
Pinto and other village officials, together with Malolos Mayor Christian Natividad, inspected the reported patches of oil off the coast of Manila Bay in the city.
The village chief said that several fisherfolk were seen fishing where the patches of oil were found.
Natividad told The STAR in a text message that they will have the oil samples tested if it originated from the Terra Nova. – Ramon Efren Lazaro, Bella Cariaso
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