Philippines in race to prevent environmental disaster from sunken oil tanker

July 26 (UPI) — Philippine maritime and environment agencies were engaged in a race against time Friday to contain oil leaking from a tanker sunk by typhoon Gaemi and prevent 370,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil on board from spilling into the sea.

Marine Environmental Protection personnel were spraying oil dispersants to break up a miles-long slick in Manila Bay and deploying floating booms to capture and collect emulsified oil in a bid to prevent oil from reaching the capital, Manila, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a social media update.

The coast guard said that based on its initial assessment it was confident siphoning off of the remaining oil on the Terra Nova, which was lying in 111 feet of water after going down in heavy seas Thursday, could be completed in seven days.

However, it warned its modeling of the oil spill trajectory showed that, were the worst-case scenario to be realized, it would affect waters off Manila, Paranaque and Navotas and as far away as Pampanga province.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said while he had no concerns about siphoning out the oil from the wreck of the Terra Nova on the seabed, authorities were taking no chances and were preparing for the “worst-case potential negative impact to the marine environment” regardless.

“We are utilizing our manpower, mobilizing our resources, consulting with experts, and collaborating with local governments and other stakeholders to avoid a marine environment catastrophe,” Balilo said.

Balilo said divers were standing by to conduct a detailed underwater assessment as soon as the weather permitted.

He did not believe the threat was as great as a similar incident in February 2023 when a tanker carrying 176,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil went down in the Tablas Strait off the central Philippine island of Mindoro, sparking a massive U.S.-led international salvage and clean-up operation.

The spill from the Princess Empress was far worse, Balilio said, because the water pressure on its tanks was many orders of magnitude higher than the Terra Nova as it was under more than 1,200 feet of water.

That incident caused a huge environmental disaster that damaged fisheries, agriculture as well as more than 60 beach resorts and protected marine parks and killing coral reefs, seagrasses and mangrove forests as far away as Palawan.

Balilo confirmed the coastguard had recovered the body of a seaman missing from the Terra Nova and turned it over to his family and 16 others rescued had been reunited with their loved ones.

The crew told coastguard investigators they were attempting to return to port after being forced back by huge waves when the vessel began to experience mechanical issues.

They had been given the all-clear to begin their 500-mile voyage to Iloilo City in the central Philippines despite super-typhoon Gaemi lashing Luzon island as there was no storm signal warning at the time.