MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard ( PCG) said that it has failed to begin its recovery operations into the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil of the sunken Terra Nova tanker as it has yet to seal all the valves under the sunken tanker due to weather conditions and strong current under the sea.
Currently, 18 of the 24 valves of the sunken tanker have been sealed while it projects to finish the remaining six valves before it proceeds to the siphoning today, Wednesday, July 31.
Asked why the authorities had yet to start siphoning the industrial fuel oil inside the sunken tanker, the PCG said the capping operation is the “limiting factor.”
“We are still on schedule actually, ang limiting factor ngayon ay yung capping operation, ang pag seal ng mga remaining valves and pipes which were not sealed in the previous days kasi hindi naman sila nagli-leak, inuna muna natin ‘yung mga nagli-leak,” PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told reporters during a press briefing.
According to the official, authorities are now bracing for a more sensitive operation following the capping of the valves since it’s more “sensitive” due to the nature of the operations
“It (siphoning) is naturally more sensitive kasi may io-open at palalabasin doon ‘yung oil para i-siphon, may isasaksak. So gagalawin mo ‘yung integrity ng barko, naturally, mas relatively sensitive ‘yun kesa sa hindi mo ginalaw ‘yung barko,” he said.
Approximately 300,000 liters of oil are estimated to be siphoned off the sunken tanker before they plan to set the sunken tanker afloat and drag the Terra Nova near the coastline where authorities would siphon the remaining oil inside.
“We have to make sure that it is stable enough na hindi siya mag-capsize but procedures are in place,” Gavan said.
The official has yet to provide an estimate regarding how many liters of oil have been leaked as of Tuesday but assured the public that there were no signs of leaking from the sunken tanker following the capping operations.
Reports from the environmental group Greenpeace Philippines showed that the oil spill from the sunken tanker in Bataan has now reached the waters of Hagonoy, Bulacan following the sightings of oil approximately four kilometers off the coast of Tibaguin Island in Hagonoy, Bulacan.
On Thursday last week, the motor tanker Terra Nova capsized off the coast of Lamao Point, in Limay, Bataan after experiencing adverse weather conditions which left one crew member dead.
