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Harbor Star reports to the Coast Guard that 55,512 liters or 2.57% of the oil cargo were ‘lost due to various factors such as biodegradation, dissipation, absorption by sorbent booms, and unpumpable sludge left in the tanks’
MANILA, Philippines – The oil siphoning operations on the MT Terranova ended on Thursday, September 12, with a recovery rate of over 97%, its salvor reported to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
In a report to the PCG, Harbor Star said the operations recovered 1,415,954 liters of oil and 17,725 kilograms of solid oil waste or a recovery rate of 97.43%.
Harbor Star said 55,512 liters or 2.57% of the oil cargo from MT Terranova were “lost due to various factors such as biodegradation, dissipation, absorption by sorbent booms, and unpumpable sludge left in the tanks.”
After the recovery of oil, Harbor Star will conduct a stripping operation to make sure that cargo from oil tanks are completely removed. Salvage operations will commence once done.
The completion of the oil recovery operation comes more than a month after the MT Terranova sank off Limay, Bataan, while carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil en route to Iloilo.
The PCG conducted the final inspection of ground zero on Thursday.
Meanwhile, investigation to hold concerned parties liable for the oil spill and two other incidents in Bataan — the sunken MTKR Jason Bradley and the MV Mirola 1 which ran aground — continues, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.
“Sa usapin naman ng imbestigasyon, tuloy-tuloy ang paghahanap natin ng sagot sa mga katanungang: May kinalaman ba ang mga barkong ito sa oil smuggling? Bakit ang dalawang barko, sa kabila ng walang rehistro ay napatakbo sa ating karagatan?” Marcos said during an aid distribution event in Navotas on Thursday, according to a Presidential Communications Office press statement.
“Lahat ito ay iniimbestigahan para tiyakin na pananagutin natin ang mga may sala,” he added.
(With regard to the investigation, we continue to looking for answers to these questions: Are these ships involved in oil smuggling? Why were the two ships, despite not being registered, able to set sail in our seas? All of this is being investigated to ensure that all those accountable are held liable.)
The two unregistered ships are the MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1. The PCG said in its latest update that the salvor for MTKR Jason Bradley was still installing siphoning pipes to extract seawater, and aims to float the tanker by Saturday, September 14.
“It’s far from over,” fisherfolk group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng mga Mangingisda sa Pilipinas said on Wednesday, September 11.
The group demanded that the government “quickly rehabilitate” marine resources and expand assistant not just to fisherfolk but to women engaged in maintenance of equipment and post-harvest operations.
The Department of Justice had previously floated the possibility of the three tankers being involved in the “paihi” system, or oil smuggling. (READ: Red flags in Bataan? Remulla says billions lost due to oil smuggling)
“Paihi” literally means to urinate in Filipino, but has come to refer to an oil smuggling method where a larger tanker transfers oil to smaller tankers to evade taxes.
Fish in all areas in Manila Bay are safe for human consumption, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported on August 30, even those from hard-hit areas in Cavite. Fishing in the province had also resumed. – Rappler.com
