LIMAY: The Philippine coast guard on Friday raced to offload 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil from a sunken tanker and prevent an “environmental catastrophe” in Manila Bay.

One crew member died when the MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometres off Limay municipality early Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.

An oil slick stretching several kilometres was detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

Coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said on Friday the spill was “minimal” and that it appeared to be diesel fuel used to power the tanker and not the industrial fuel oil cargo.

“No oil has been leaking from the tank itself, so we’re racing against time to siphon the oil so we can avoid the environmental catastrophe,” Balilo said.

The coast guard has set a target of seven days to offload the cargo and prevent what Balilo warned would be the worst oil spill in Philippine history if it were to leak.

An eyewitness at the Port of Limay in Bataan province watched coast guard personnel load oil dispersant and a suction skimmer onto a boat to be used against the slick.

Balilo said oil spill containment booms had also been deployed in preparation “for the worst case scenario” of the industrial fuel oil leaking before it could be offloaded.

Once the weather improved, coast guard divers would inspect the position of the tanker so the “siphoning operation” could get under way, he said.

The coast guard met representatives of the MT Terra Nova’s owner and a contracted salvage company on Friday to discuss the timeline.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024