Oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay

PCG warns could be biggest spill in recent history

A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila early Thursday dawn, authorities said as they raced to contain the spill.

President Ferdinand Marcos immediately ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Coast Guardto conduct an environmental assessment after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Bataan.

“The fuel is being released, what are the tides? What are the winds? Where is it headed? So we can get ahead of the situation. We need some determination of that,” Mr. Marcos said.

PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said authorities were “racing against time” to contain the spill from MT Terra Nova and stop more fuel leaking.

He warned that if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the biggest spill in recent Philippine history.

An oil spill stretching several kilometres has been detected and the PCG was preparing to apply dispersants and deploy floating barriers to contain the slick.

“There is a big danger that Manila will be affected, even the shoreline of Manila, if the fuel will leak, because it is within Manila Bay,” Balilo said.

“It will definitely affect the marine environment,” Balilo added, describing the amount of oil on the ship as “enormous.”

The 2006 Guimaras oil spill is considered the worst spill on record as M/V Solar 1, which was carrying 2.4 million liters of oil en route to Mindanao, capsized. Only 9,000 liters of oil were recovered from the tanker.

The PCG deployed three 44-meter multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) to augment the ongoing oil spill response operations in Bataan.

One crew member of the MT Terra Nova died when it capsized in Manila Bay, nearly 3.5 nautical miles off Limay in Bataan province as it sailed to the central city of Iloilo.

The vessel went down as heavy rains fuelled by Super Typhoon Carina and the seasonal monsoon or “habagat” lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the DOTr already contacted ship salvage firm Harbor Star to help assess the situation.

He said 16 of the 17 crew had been rescued from the stricken vessel.

The body of a missing crew member was found in the afternoon after rescuers spent hours searching the rough seas, the coast guard said.

An investigation into the cause of the incident was underway, but Balilo said the vessel had not broken rules on heavy weather sailing.

No Public Storm Warning Signal was raised when the MT Terra Nova departed Limay and “therefore did not violate rules and regulations,” the PCG official said.

A photo released by the coast guard showed the MT Terra Nova almost entirely submerged in rough seas.

It has since sunk 34 metres below the waves, which Balilo said was “considerably shallow” and meant siphoning the oil out of the tanker “can be done quickly.”

Coast guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan said they had set a target of seven days to complete the siphoning.

An oil slick stretching about 3.7 kilometers was being carried by a “strong current” in an easterly, northeasterly direction, the coast guard said in a report.

Marine environmental protection personnel have been mobilized to help contain the slick. The coast guard said it was also working with some oil spill response organisations, while oil companies, including Petron, had offered to help.

The leader of a local fishing group said the spill was “really alarming” and urged authorities to contain it as quickly as possible.

“The livelihood of our fishermen is dependent on the waters. They don’t have any alternative,” Pando Hicap, chairman of Pamalakaya, told AFP.

Aside from the Guimaras oil spill, one of the worst oil spills in the country happened in February 2023 when a tanker carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro.

Diesel fuel and thick oil from that vessel contaminated the waters and beaches along the coast of Oriental Mindoro province, devastating the fishing and tourism industries.

The oil dispersed over hundreds of kilometers of waters famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world.

Thousands of fishermen were ordered to stay ashore, and swimming was banned. With AFP

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Philippines races to contain spill after oil tanker capsizes off Manila”