Philippines oil spill

[Old55]

Philippines oil spill has officials "preparing for the worst" as they race to recover fuel from sunken vessel

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philippines-oil-spill-officials-preparing-worst-race-recover-fuel-sunken-vessel/

A vessel carrying roughly 370,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil capsized and sunk off of the Philippineson Thursday, causing an oil spill and killing one crew member. Officials now fear a "marine environment catastrophe," saying they're "preparing for the worst."

The Philippine Coast Guard said the incident occurred just after 1 a.m. local time on Thursday about 3.6 nautical miles east of Lamao Point in the Philippines Bataan province. The motor tanker, called Terra Nova, was carrying 1.4 million liters, about 370,000 gallons, of industrial fuel oil when it capsized in rough seas. One person died and 16 other crew members were rescued. 

In their initial announcement, the coast guard said the oil spill had spread about 2 nautical miles due to a strong current. Coast Guard Admiral Ronnie Gil L Gava directed three response vessels to the spill site, saying they would administer oil dispersants to "immediately mitigate the impact" as officials prepared to siphon the area. 

"The PCG sets an operational target of seven days to finish siphoning the oil from the sunken tanker to stop further spread," the Philippine Coast Guard said on Facebook. 

The sinking and oil spill occurred as the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Gaemi, which killed at least 34 people without even making a direct hit, officials said Friday, according to the Associated Press. The typhoon, which also had impacts in Taiwan and China, exacerbated the seasonal monsoon rains, causing rampant flooding and landslides. Some of those who died drowned or were electrocuted, the AP reported, while others, including a pregnant woman and three children, were buried in landslides.

On Friday, Philippine Coast Guard Rear Admiral Balilo said officials "are still preparing for the worst-case scenario to address the potential negative impact to the marine environment" in regards to the oil spill, which officials said stems from the vessel's fuel tank and not from cargo. 

"We are utilizing our manpower, mobilizing our resources, consulting with experts, and collaborating with LGUs and other stakeholders to avoid a marine environment catastrophe," he said. 

The coast guard said the vessel did not go against regulations when it set out and that no storm signals had been issued at the time. According to CBS News partner BBC, Balilo said the captain had wanted to return to shore after realizing "the waves were really strong," but that doing so proved difficult as they were sailing against them. 

Balilo said the spill could reach the Philippines capital of Manila – home to the country's biggest port. 

"[It's] the center of trade and economic activity," Hernando Bacosa, an environmental sciences expert at the Mindanao State University, told the BBC. "This could possibly paralyze the capital and the neighboring areas."

"They said the ship scooped up water until it eventually capsized," he said, adding that crew members secured the vessel's doors before jumping into the sea. 

 

 

 

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Old55 said:

Balilo said the spill could reach the Philippines capital of Manila – home to the country's biggest port. 

"[It's] the center of trade and economic activity," Hernando Bacosa, an environmental sciences expert at the Mindanao State University, told the BBC. "This could possibly paralyze the capital and the neighboring areas."

"They said the ship scooped up water until it eventually capsized," he said, adding that crew members secured the vessel's doors before jumping into the sea. 

The article did not give a good description of the location.  It is inside Manila Bay near the town of Limay in Bataan.  That is fairly close to the mouth of the bay.  Prevailing winds should keep it inside the bay.

In my mind, keeping it inside the already polluted bay seems better than having it outside the bay where the ocean / beaches, etc., are more pristine.  However the article mentions economic impact if it makes it over to the other side of the bay.  Hopefully they can siphon most of the oil from the ship. This picture is from Windy.  Arrow shows the wind direction.

 

[Mike J]

Latest news.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/27/philippine-coast-guard-says-oil-leaking-from-sunken-tanker-1429

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) -- Some of the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken Philippine tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay, the coast guard said Saturday, as they raced to avoid an environmental catastrophe.

The MT Terra Nova sank in bad weather off Manila early Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the country potentially facing its worst oil spill disaster.

The oil slick has more than tripled in size and is now estimated to stretch 12-14 kilometers (7.5-8.7 miles) across the bay, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

Divers inspected the hull of the vessel on Saturday and saw a "minimal leak" from the valves, coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said, adding it was "not alarming yet".

"It's just a small volume flowing out," Balilo said, adding "the tanks are intact".

"We're hoping that tomorrow we will be able to start siphoning the oil from the motor tanker," he said.

The ship that will carry the recovered oil is on its way to the area, he said.

The coast guard has warned that if the entire cargo leaked it would be an "environmental catastrophe".

It has previously said the oil leaking from the tanker appeared to be the diesel fuel used to power the vessel, which is resting on the sea floor under 34 meters (116 feet) of water.

The coast guard now thinks the slick is a mixture of diesel and industrial fuel oil.

Oil containment booms have been deployed for what Balilo earlier described as "the worst case scenario" of the cargo leaking out.

Three coast guard vessels were also spreading dispersants on the oil.

Balilo called for a suspension of fishing in Manila Bay to prevent people "eating contaminated fish".

- Seven days to offload oil -

The vessel sank nearly seven kilometers from its origin in the port of Limay west of Manila. It was attempting to return to port after running into bad weather.

Sixteen of the 17 crew members were rescued from the tanker, which vessel tracking website vesselfinder.com said was 65-meters long and built in 2002.

The incident occurred as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.

The state weather service said the monsoon had weakened by late Friday, giving the authorities a window of relative calm at sea to recover the cargo.

The coast guard estimates the extraction would take at least seven days.

It met with representatives of the MT Terra Nova's owner and a contracted salvage company on Friday to discuss the timeline.

The Philippines has struggled to contain serious oil spills in the past.

It took months to clean up after a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro last year, contaminating waters and beaches of the island and devastating the fishing and tourism industries.

Another tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras in 2006, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.

[Mike J]

Now there is a second sunken tanker leaking. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/07/29/2373793/another-sunken-motor-tanker-leaking-oil-bataan-pcg

MANILA, Philippines —  here are now two sunken motor tankers – both with oil leaks that pose a threat to the marine environment – in the waters of Bataan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said that aside from the tanker Terra Nova, which capsized 3.6 nautical miles off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan last July 25, the Coast Guard would simultaneously attend to the MT Jason Bradley, which sank in the waters off Barangay Cabcaben in Mariveles, Bataan.

The PCG is still checking if the two sinking incidents are related.

Balilo said they are still gathering information on what transpired in the sinking of the Jason Bradley. The PCG sent three 44-meter vessels and divers at 5 p.m. on Saturday to the area and confirmed the presence of the second sunken vessel.

“There is another motor tanker (the Jason Bradley) that sank off Mariveles, Bataan. We verified and conducted a diving operation, and was able to confirm that a tanker sank,” Balilo said.

He added that they have dispatched a Coast Guard ship to place oil spill booms at the site because there is already an oil sheen present.

The PCG said the Jason Bradley might not have departed from Bataan since it was not cleared by their Coast Guard station in the area. It was possible that it might have taken shelter in the area before it sank.

Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encinas, who assumed the post as the Bataan Station commander only last Saturday, previously said that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley. However, Balilo has since clarified that the ship was carrying an unknown quantity of diesel cargo.

The confusion started when an unnamed shipping company reportedly told the Coast Guard earlier that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley when the tanker sank nine meters deep in the muddy bottom, some 550 meters away from the shoreline.

The PCG has begun preparing the needed equipment for the salvaging operations. Encinas said this might take two weeks to complete.

As for the Terra Nova, that is carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO), Balilo said, “We were supposed to begin with the siphoning of the IFOs from the sunken MT Terra Nova on Sunday, but (salvor company) Harbor Star divers saw that nine valves of the MT Terra Nova were leaking.”

“Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, with the guidance of President Marcos, ordered to postpone the planned siphoning of the 1.4 million liters of IFO. We will seal the valves first before siphoning the oil cargo, this way we would be able to stop the oil tanker from leaking further,” Balilo added.

The divers worked on sealing the valves, and finished the application of the second layer of sealant at around 10:42 a.m. yesterday. They have been given until today to finish plugging the valve leaks. The siphoning would commence tomorrow.

The PCG had set a seven-day operational target to complete the siphoning.

“Our ships are there, all the equipment needed by the Harbor Star have already been prepositioned, and we know the location of the submerged ship, we just cannot proceed with the siphoning as of today. But it is just a minor leak,” he added.

The size of the oil spill, which was previously measured at 10-14 kilometers, had already been significantly reduced to three kilometers of visible oil spill, the Coast Guard official said.

This is a result of the mitigating measures that have been implemented, such as the laying down of oil spill booms and spraying with oil dispersants for easy collection.

Based on reports from the surrounding PCG stations, the oil spill has already reached Hagonoy, Bulacan and even reached the area of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.

While the wind was said to be moving in the direction of southwest last Saturday, their stations in Batangas said there was negative sighting of oil in their areas of jurisdiction. There are also no reports of affected mangroves in Pampanga.

Patches of oil were sighted in the coastal area of Barangay Pugad in Hagonoy town yesterday morning, which was confirmed by Lawrence Carlos Pinto, barangay chairman of the coastal village of Namayan in Malolos.

Pinto and other village officials, together with Malolos Mayor Christian Natividad, inspected the reported patches of oil off the coast of Manila Bay in the city.

The village chief said that several fisherfolk were seen fishing where the patches of oil were found.

Natividad told The STAR in a text message that they will have the oil samples tested if it originated from the Terra Nova.