Philippine-flagged tanker Terra Nova carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday (25 July), raising fears of a major oil spill in Manila Bay.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the incident took place 3.6 nautical miles east of Lamao Point, Limay, Bataan, at around 1.10am when it was heading to Iloilo as its port of destination.
CG Rear Admiral Balilo said 16 of the 17 crew on board have been rescued. Four of the 16 rescued individuals received further medical attention.
The Coast Guard Aviation Command also performed an aerial survey as part of the ongoing oil spill response operations.
The deployed aerial asset monitored an oil spill 5.6 nautical miles east off Lamao Point with an estimated coverage (length) of two nautical miles carried by strong current heading east to northeast.
Marine environmental protection personnel have also been mobilised to combat the oil spill.
The Coast Guard, in a later update, said three 44-meter multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) were deployed to augment the ongoing oil spill response operations in Bataan.
“These vessels will start the application of oil dispersants to immediately mitigate impact, especially during the period where siphoning is being prepared,” CG Admiral Gavan explained.
“The PCG sets an operational target of seven days to finish siphoning the oil from the sunken tanker to stop further spread,” the Coast Guard Commandant furthered.
“The vessel sunk 34 meters deep which is considerably shallow. Siphoning will not be very technical and can be done quickly to protect the vicinity waters of Bataan and Manila Bay against environmental, social, economic, financial, and political impacts,” CG Rear Admiral Balilo said.
At around 3pm on 25 July, the Coast Guard reported that the body of Terra Nova’s missing crew was found in the vicinity waters off Limay, Bataan.
Source: Manifoldtimes.com