Manila races to contain spill after oil tanker capsizes
LIMAY: A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they raced to contain a spill.
One crew member of the MT Terra Nova died when it capsized in Manila Bay, nearly seven kilometres off Limay municipality in Bataan province, as it sailed to the central city of Iloilo.
The vessel went down as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
An oil spill stretching several kilometres has been detected and the Philippine Coast Guard was preparing to apply dispersants and deploy floating barriers to contain the slick.
At a briefing earlier on Thursday, coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said authorities were “racing against time” to contain the spill and stop more fuel leaking.
He warned that if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the biggest spill in Philippine history.
“There is a big danger that Manila will be affected, even the shoreline of Manila, if the fuel will leak, because it is within Manila Bay,” Balilo said.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said 16 of the 17 crew had been rescued from the stricken vessel.
The body of a missing crew member was found in the aternoon ater rescuers spent hours searching the rough seas, the coast guard said.
An investigation into the cause of the incident was underway, but coast guard spokesman Balilo said the vessel had not broken rules on heavy weather sailing.
A Public Storm Warning Signal had not been raised when the MT Terra Nova departed Limay and “therefore did not violate rules and regulations,” he said in a statement.
Thousands of fishermen and tour operators are dependent on the waters for their livelihoods.
A photo released by the coast guard showed the MT Terra Nova almost entirely submerged in rough seas.
It has since sunk 34 metres below the waves, which Balilo said was “considerably shallow” and meant siphoning the oil out of the tanker “can be done quickly.”