An initial batch of 3,457 victims from the fisheries sector has so far filed a combined P114 million in financial compensation claims for the economic losses that they suffered due to the MT Princess Empress oil spill, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, a member of the House committee on ecology, said on Sunday.
“Those figures from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, or IOPC Funds, are very preliminary. Additional claims from capture fishery alone have probably been submitted by now, but have not been aggregated and reported yet,” Pimentel said.
“We understand that the IOPC Funds are now managing the civil liability claims with respect to the oil pollution damaged caused by the incident,” the lawmaker added.
Pimentel also said: “The Philippine Coast Guard and other government agencies involved are also expected to file their respective claims for costs incurred in cleanup operations and preventive measures as well as sea response.”
Beach resorts, tour boat operators and other tourism service providers hit by the oil spill are also expected to file claims, according to Pimentel.
The 508-ton MT Princess Empress sank in Tablas Strait on February 28, discharging up to 5,600 barrels (900,000 liters) of highly toxic industrial fuel oil into the waters of Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Antique, and Palawan.
Fishing and swimming bans were imposed for an extended period in the areas hit hardest by the spill, thus adversely affecting communities dependent on seafood harvesting and tourism activities.
The London-based IOPC Funds pay compensation to those who have suffered pollution damage from spills of persistent oil from tankers in a member state, such as the Philippines.
Claimants may be individuals, partnerships, companies, private organizations, or public bodies, including states or local authorities.
Compensable claims include property damage, costs of cleanup activities at sea and on shore, economic losses by fisherfolk and seafood vendors, or those engaged in mariculture, economic losses in the tourism sector, and costs for reinstatement of the environment.
The IOPC Funds work with The Shipowners’ Club – a mutual insurance association based in Luxembourg – to settle claims.