Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 29) — Oil slicks have been observed in the waters off Calatagan, Batangas where a fishing vessel carrying 70,000 liters of marine diesel oil recently submerged, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Tuesday.
PCG District Southern Tagalog Commander Geronimo Tuvilla told CNN Philippines in a message that leaked oil has been spotted only “offshore,” or at the incident site, after “ANITA DJ II” sank seven nautical miles from the shoreline of Cape Santiago in Barangay Bagong Silang on Sunday.
No oil strandings have been seen yet in the shorelines of the area included in the possible trajectory of the oil slick, Tuvilla added.
“As of the moment, no clean up operations are being conducted in the shorelines since no oil strandings are observed,” he wrote.
Tuvilla said only offshore response was conducted on Monday, where water was sprayed through water cannons to help get rid of the oil slicks.
Protect the Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) advocates earlier raised alarm over the incident, saying the marine corridor — dubbed the “Amazon of the oceans” — faces another threat of oil spill “that may poison the vulnerable ecosystem of VIP,” even as issues from the massive Oriental Mindoro oil spill “remain unresolved.”
In February, the oil tanker MT Princess Empress sank while carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil, causing it to spill in the waters of Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Palawan, and Antique.
“The cargo carried by Anita DJ II is much smaller than that of MT Princess Empress and there seem to be seals that would prevent a spill, but the government must still act fast to ensure that these seals hold and do not cause another ecological disaster,” Protect VIP Convenor Fr. Edwin Gariguez said in a statement on Monday.
Threat level ‘lower’
Tuvilla, however, allayed fears, saying that the threat level of the recent oil spill is lower compared with the one in Oriental Mindoro.
This is because the type and amount of oil in both vessels are different, he explained in a radio interview with 92.3 Radyo 5 TRUE FM, which the PCG posted on its Facebook Page.
“Yung viscosity niya, mas malabnaw, ‘ika nga nila,” Tuvilla said, referring to the marine diesel oil carried by ANITA DJ II. “Ibig sabihin, mas madali ito mag-dissipate. Mabulabog lang ‘to ng alon at maarawan, mas madali siyang mawala doon sa karagatan.”
[Translation: In terms of viscosity, it is more diluted. This means it dissipates more easily. It can dissipate due to waves or heat from the sun.]
Thirteen crew members of ANITA DJ II were rescued after their boat sank.
The PCG said the boat, owned by IRMA Fishing, departed Navotas Port and was bound for Palawan fishing grounds.
Earlier reports state the vessel sank due to strong rains, but the coast guard said investigation is ongoing to confirm the cause of the incident.
