IT seems that oil spills from ships are becoming a regular occurrence in this archipelago. Three tankers capsized in Bataan in the week of July 25 to 31, 2024, apparently due to the onslaught of Typhoon Carina (Gaemi).
Again, as in the previous maritime incidents involving tankers, the fishermen carry the brunt of this environmental disaster. The fragile waters of Manila Bay are again compromised with this series of oil spills even as the circumstances surrounding the MT Terranova, MT Jason Bradley and MT Mirola 1 are still being determined and validated.
It was 17 years ago, in August 2006, when MT Solar 1, a Philippine-registered tanker, sank 10 nautical miles from Guimaras Island in heavy weather. The tanker spilled almost its entire cargo of 2,000 tons of industrial fuel oil, which escalated into a national disaster.
Hundreds of residents, mostly fishermen and those whose livelihoods depend on the sea, were prevented from attending to their livelihoods. Business and economic activities, such as those related to tourism and mariculture, were paralyzed as response and cleanup operations were undertaken. The country is still recovering from the MT Princess Empress, which sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, in February 2023.
As in the cases of MT Solar 1 and MT Princess Empress, Congressional hearings are now being held in aid of legislation. Observers ask what laws were enacted to address the issues uncovered during the past investigations. There must be some lessons learned from these cases to prevent maritime accidents and effectively respond to oil spills from ships, which legislators who are now at the forefront of the hearings on the three tankers could refer to.
International conventions about maritime safety and marine environment protection are pointed out during hearings; several conventions that are interrelated need to be understood to be able to identify the issues and challenges confronting the archipelago when it comes to maritime accidents.
Foremost among these conventions are the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) and the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol). Marpol aims to institute policy, legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks for preventing operational and accidental discharge of waste from ships. Of relevance to the case of the tankers, Annex 1 of Marpol prescribes the minimum requirements for constructing a tanker that carries oil as cargo including those about survey and certification.
The Philippines ratified Marpol in 2001, and it can be recalled that in the deliberations for the Senate concurrence to ratify the same, the Senate called out why maritime agencies took too long before ratification was proposed. More than twenty years later, the Marpol bill is yet to be passed by Congress. Solas, on the other hand, has its technical requirements for domestic ships transposed into the Philippine Merchant Marine Rules and Regulations and other Circulars issued by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
The second stage in oil spill incidents pertains to response covered by the Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC), 1990. which convention the Philippines ratified. As in the case of Marpol, there is no enabling law for the effective implementation of the OPRC in the Philippines. Republic Act (RA) 10121, which established the National Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council, may serve to implement the convention but only to a limited extent. Detailed mandates and functions of agencies must be clearly stipulated in the enabling law, which RA 10121 does not provide.
The third stage is compensation, which is aptly covered by an enabling law under the Civil Liabilities Convention and the FUND Convention. It is for this reason that the Philippines is able to get compensated for the damage caused by the oil spill.
It appears that the issue that needs to be addressed by legislation focuses on the prevention stage. What are the existing protocols and permitting rules that go with allowing tankers to operate in Philippine waters? What factors are involved in compliance monitoring and enforcement? Is it just the documentation of a tanker, what about the crew complement and management participation in ship operations as stipulated in the national safety management manual?
Indeed, the issue of prevention of marine pollution from ships is a complex one, still, it is as important as the other issues confronting the country in protecting its maritime heritage.
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