Philippines: Second tanker sinks in Manila Bay, fuel leaks found

A second tanker sank in Manila Bay over the weekend, compounding an environmental threat days after the MT Terra Nova carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel submerged in stormy seas, officials and fishermen said Monday.

The MTKR Jason Bradley went down Saturday in the shallows off Mariveles town in Bataan province. It had no cargo on board but the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said divers had found leaks and  an undetermined amount of diesel fuel.

“The PCG response team is working on properly removing the diesel cargo with the help of a contracted salvor,” it said in a statement, according to local media.

The MT Terra Nova sank in Manila Bay on Thursday after being battered by waves whipped up by Typhoon Gaemi, also known as Super Typhoon Carina, and a seasonal monsoon east of Lamao Point.

On Monday, Lt. Cmdr. Michael John Encinas of the coast guard’s Bataan Station said crews are working at the Terra Nova site.

“[The cleanup operation] will involve 300,00 liters of fuel and then we can bring the vessel to a shallow area to do other measures,” Encinas said, adding the task could take seven to 10 days.

He said divers sealed 24 leaking valves on the MT Terra Nova and would soon begin siphoning off its cargo in the next week.

Aerial photographs released by Greenpeace on Sunday showed images of a four-km (2.5-mile) oil slick in Manila Bay off Bulacan province, just outside the capital, indicating that fuel had leaked from the Terra Nova. 

Fishermen affected

At least 20,000 subsistence fishermen in coastal communities in the bay could be affected by the MT Terra Nova spill and lead to losses of about 83 million pesos (U.S. $1.42 million) a month, according to the government’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

“We haven’t fully recovered from the severe impact of Super Typhoon Carina and the current southwest monsoon,” said fisherman Richard Catenza, a community leader in a coastal town in Cavite, just south of Manila. 

“Fishing has been disrupted for over two months due to large waves and strong winds. We cannot endure another looming tragedy caused by this oil spill,” he said, noting that the incident could affect fish prices around the Manila Bay area.

Ronnel Arambulo, vice chairman of the fishermen’s group Pamalakaya, criticized the government’s slow response to the Terra Nova incident.

 “We’ve experienced numerous oil spills before. The government should have learned how to prevent the expansion of its damage to the sea and fishers’ livelihoods,” Arambulo said. 

Group members have reported having detected an oil slick in the shorelines of Tanza town, he said, noting residents wake up to “the distinctive odor associated with the oil spill.” 

Arambulo said the slick likely contaminated prime fishing grounds.

“What we feared has already happened. Now, fishermen will bear the brunt of this accident,” he said, noting that about 5,000 fishermen in Tanza were at risk of losing their livelihood.

Arambulo said Pamalakaya members plan to conduct inspections in waters off Cavite to determine the extent of the oil spill and seek rehabilitation for damaged resources.

On Monday, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said fish samples from several coastal communities were collected to test for the presence of oil, grease and other contaminants.

Still, the bureau had not issued a fishing ban in waters near the spill site.

Typhoon Gaemi and an enhanced seasonal monsoon wreaked havoc across Manila and other parts of the country last week.

At least 36 people were killed and three others were reported missing during incessant rains and heavy flooding, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in its report on Monday.

At least 105 cities and municipalities – including the capital Manila and its nearby suburbs – declared states of calamity because of flooding.

The country’s worst spill occurred in August 2006 when the tanker M/T Solar 1 sank off Guimaras province, releasing over 2.1 million liters of fuel.

Jeoffrey Maitem and Jojo Riñoza in Manila contributed to this report.