Oil Spill Reaches Verde Island

Almost three weeks since the incident, the oil spill from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress has reached Verde Island, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said on Monday, March 20.

“Around 7:30 in the morning… we received information from our men in the area that the oil spill has reached the waters of Verde Island,” PCG Batangas Station commander Capt. Victorino Acosta confirmed.

“As of now, it is confirmed that there are sightings (of the oil spill) in Verde Island… at some 4.4 nautical miles. There is already an oil sheen, but some of those that made landfall were black in color,” he added.

However, during an aerial inspection in the afternoon, the PCG said there were no longer traces of oil in the vicinity of waters off Verde Island, although traces of the oil spill could be found in three coastal barangays of the island – San Antonio, San Agustin and San Agapito.

The Coast Guard official also said that even before the oil spill reached Verde Island, the PCG and the local government had taken precautionary measures such as deploying strike teams, improvised oil spill booms and other equipment to contain the spread of the oil.

Acosta appealed to the public, especially the residents of the island barangays, to donate plastic bottles to use as floaters, nets and nylon cords for making improvised oil spill booms.

But even with their effort, Acosta said they could not guarantee that the oil spill would only cause minimal damage.

The PCG so far has collected approximately 230 liters of oil during Monday’s shoreline cleanup. Since the start of cleanup operations last March 1, the PCG recovered 6,803 liters of oily water mixture and 65 sacks of oil-contaminated materials.

For shoreline ops, the PCG has collected 215 sacks of oil-contaminated materials resulting in 2,353 sacks and 22 drums of waste in 13 affected barangays.

Verde Island is part of the 1.4-million hectare Verde Island Passage (VIP), a body of water between Batangas and Mindoro that has the highest concentration of coastal fishes, corals, crustaceans, mollusks, seagrasses and mangroves. Its rich marine biodiversity is home to over 300 coral species, underwater rock canyons, reef formations and 60 percent of known shore fish species in the world.

Satellite mapping

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has mapped out the possible extent of the oil spill by using satellite maps from the International Charter Space and Major Disasters and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In their updated maps of the extent of the oil spill, PhilSA said the oil slicks were approximately 16.02 nautical miles in length and about 0.35 nautical miles at the widest, placing the total coverage of the oil spill at approximately 9.87 square kilometers.

“These maps are still subject to field validation. These two maps from NOAA exhibit the possible, yet unconfirmed, oil off the coast of Pola, Mindoro Island as seen from RCM1 and Sentinel 1A imagery taken on 19 March 2023,” PhilSA said.

“In the RCM1 imagery, the oil was segmented and extended a total of 13 nautical miles towards the southwest of the vessel point source, and is 1 nautical mile at its widest point closer to the shore of Mindoro near Lake Naujan; it covers approximately 11.62 square kilometers,” PhilSA said.

“In the Sentinel 1A imagery, the oil was separated into three different areas south and southwest of the sunken tanker location. The slicks are approximately 16.02 nautical miles in total length and about 0.35 nautical miles at the widest; it covers a total of approximately 9.87 square kilometers,” PhilSA said.

The NOAA is a US federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.

Oil slick

Meanwhile, environmental group Greenpeace Philippines said the oil slick from the sunken MT Princess Empress has affected at least 984,238 hectares of municipal waters covering 10 coastal towns of Oriental Mindoro, two in Palawan and one in Antique.

At a press conference, Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Jefferson Chua cited the data gathered by Oceana’s Karagatan Patrol which showed that the oil spill reached Bansud, Bongabong, Bulalacao, Calapan, Gloria, Mansalay, Naujan, Pinamalayan, Pola and Roxas in Oriental Mindoro; Caluya in Antique and Agutaya and Taytay in Palawan.

For his part, Oceana Philippines senior campaign manager Danny Ocampo said that efforts should be made to minimize the impact of the oil slick to the VIP.

University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) associate professor Irene Rodriguez warned that aside from the VIP, the oil spill could reach Puerto Galera and areas in Ba-tangas because of the weakening of the northeast monsoon and the direction of water currents.

The Princess Empress was reportedly carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil when it sank last Feb. 28 in the waters off Oriental Mindoro. The UP-MSI estimated a seepage rate of 20,000 liters per day.

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is set to release this week P33 million from the Oil Pollution Management Fund to be used by the PCG in the ongoing oil spill cleanup.

MARINA legal service director and spokesperson Sharon Aledo on Monday said that they are just one signature away from releasing the P33-million fund requested by the PCG to purchase supplies such as oil dispersants, personal protective equipment and other equipment needed to remove the oil spill.

ROV

PCG commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said the Japanese vessel Shin Nihci Maru carrying the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hakuyo arrived in Oriental Mindoro on Monday morning.

With the arrival of the ROV, the PCG commandant hopes they would be able to locate and learn the condition of the vessel. “Only the ROV has the capability to determine what is happening down there with the vessel,” said Abu.

The ROV, contracted by ship owner RDC Reield Marine Services, is expected to help locate the exact position of the sunken vessel and be used in siphoning the oil.

It will conduct visual surveys and determine the structural condition of the wreck such as if there are ongoing oil leaks.

Aside from the US and Japan, the PCG might seek help from South Korea for the oil spill cleanup, according to PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo.

“I just don’t know what South Korea could offer. But they have had oil spill in Korea and they have experts so they will be welcome,” Balilo said.

On Monday, Abu met with the Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team and US Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team at PCG headquarters in Manila for a comprehensive assessment on the oil spill to determine the best course of action before going to the command post in Oriental Mindoro.

Water test

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor has asked the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to release the result of the tests on the quality of water in the municipalities affected by the oil spill amid clamor from fisherfolk to lift the fishing ban.

“The BFAR up to now has yet to release the results that’s why we are calling the attention of BFAR, please help us fast-track the results so that we can ask our fishermen to go back to the shores or go back to the seas and fish,” Dolor said, noting that the fishing ban is currently in effect in the municipalities of Bansud, Bongabong, Bulalacao, Gloria, Mansalay, Naujan, Pinamalayan, Pola and Roxas.

He added that based on the toxicity test conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the oil and grease level is far higher than normal.

150,000 affected

A total of 151,463 individuals or 32,661 families from 131 barangays in Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique are affected by the oil spill from the sunken tanker, according to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Bureau Director Miramel Laxa.

Laxa gave assurance that the DSWD had distributed family food packs and implemented a cash-for-work program, particularly among fisherfolk whose livelihood was adversely affected.

“As of March 20, we have already distributed around P116 million (worth of assistance) to cover more than 18,762 individuals but this particularly for cash-for-work program,” she noted. – With Bella Cariaso, Rainier Allan Ronda, Arnell Ozaeta, Sheila Crisostomo