President Ferdinand Marcos on Thursday ordered an environmental assessment after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Bataan.
Mr. Marcos directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to lead the evaluation to check the impact of the oil spill in the area.
“Basically, what we need to assess is where was the capsized vessel? The fuel is being released, what are the tides? What are the winds? Where is it headed? Para maunahan na natin (So we can get ahead). We need some determination of that,” President Marcos said.
Environmental experts need to identify affected coastal areas for the government to prepare relief efforts. The MT Terra Nova was carrying around 1,494 metric tons of industrial fuel oil when it capsized 3.5 nautical miles off Lamao, Limay, Bataan.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista confirmed the oil spill, reporting that 16 of the 17 crew members were rescued, with one still missing. The rescued crew members are on a PCG vessel.
“It (oil tanker) capsized at 1 o’clock early this (Thursday) morning and there’s already oil spill and right now we cannot dispatch our resources because of strong winds and high waves,” Bautista told the President.
“We already coordinated with the private sector, Harbor Star, and [it] will deploy the resources as soon as it will be possible,” he added.
