The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced on Wednesday that privately-hired salvors have begun siphoning out what is left of the 1.4 million liters of intermediate fuel oil (IFO) still inside the capsized MTKR Terranova, which rests off the east coast of Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan.
A PCG spokesman told reporters that it will take the salvor firm, Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., about one week to empty all eight oil tanks of the sunken vessel.
“The siphoning operation for the first tank is ongoing,” Lt. Commander Michael John Encina said.
Each tank is estimated to be carrying 175,.000 liters of IFO, it was disclosed.
“Approximately 300 liters of oil were transferred to a tank to test the equipment, with no leaks observed and minimal oiling effectively contained using one length of boom,” the officer added.
The Filipino-flagged tanker capsized on July 25, killing one crew member as the ship tried to return to port amid bad weather caused by a confluence of two typhoons and the southwest monsoon.
It took authorities three weeks to control the spillage of the cargo and install the equipment to remove the fuel oil from the vessel that now rests at the bottom of the bay about 34 meters (112 feet) below the waves.
The coast guard warned the release of the cargo onto the bay would be an “environmental catastrophe” and the country’s worst oil spill.
The PCG later claimed that the spillage was minimal, but local governments nonetheless imposed “no-catch” zones affecting tens of thousands of fishermen in the bay.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources urged the public to “exercise caution when consuming fish from the affected areas due to the risk of petrochemical contamination.”
As this developed, the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change on Wednesday subpoenaed the owners of MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1 which were also involved in mishaps that exacerbated the oil spill in Bataan.
In a public hearing, committee chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar asked for the issuance of the subpoena against the ship owners over their failure to appear in the Senate.
“In view of the absence of Mr. Rominick Ponesta, ship owner of MTKR Jason Bradley, and Ms. Mary Jane Obaldo, ship owner of MV Mirola 1, despite being notified of today’s hearing, I move that subpoena be issued to the aforementioned persons,” said Villar.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino supported the motion.
