The oil slick from the sunken Motor Tanker (MT) Terranova off Limay, Bataan is no longer expected to reach the National Capital Region (NCR), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday, citing its trajectory observed during a surveillance mission.
“Na-observe nila (surveillance team) from north-northeast, ‘yung unang area ng surveillance natin, ngayon ay south-southeast na. So we are not expecting na papunta na siya ng Manila but we do not discount the possibility,” said Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina, spokesperson for PCG NCR-Central Luzon, in an interview on Dobol B TV.
“Ang trajectory ngayon ng oil sheen, papunta ng Cavite and Batangas, which is south-southeast na po,” he added.
(They had observed that from north-northeast, the direction is now south-southeast. So we are not expecting it to reach Manila but we do not discount the possibility. Based on current trajectory, the oil sheen is now heading toward Cavite and Batangas, which is south-southeast.)
Encina said the surveillance was conducted by the PCG’s Marine Environmental Unit accompanied by an expert adviser.
In its bulletin on Monday, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) said the oil slick from MT Terranova would reach Metro Manila on Tuesday, July 30.
It said the forecast was based on the oil trajectory model, which “uses surface velocity fields from Global Ocean Physics Analysis and Forecast and surface winds from the National Center for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System.”
The MT Terranova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil, capsized and sank on Thursday, July 25.
Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla had said that an oil slick from the sunken motor tanker has reached several coastal barangays in the province. These barangays were in Ternate, Maragondon, Naic, and parts of Tanza. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
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