MANILA, Philippines — Japan will now help the United States and Philippine authorities salvage the oil inside the sunken tanker in Bataan, Japanese Ambassador Kazuya Endo said.
“Japan will continue to work closely with the Philippines to mitigate the spread of marine pollution and restore the marine environment,” Enzo said Thursday.
In a state media report, the Japanese Embassy said that they are still assessing the damage to determine the type of aid they can provide.
“We are still in the process of assessing the latest situation of the incident and evaluating the extent of the damage caused by this accident. JCG and PCG are discussing the possible action to be taken to mitigate the loss and damage and we are to be staying in a close communication on the matter,” the Japanese Embassy said.
The Japanese Coast Guard, the US Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, during a virtual meeting, discussed strategies for effective oil containment, during which the Philippine Coast Guard explained the current status of the tanker oil spill.
The Japan Coast Guard will join the US Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help with the ongoing salvage operations inside the sunken tanker MTKR Terranova that sank off the coast of Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan.
The sunken tanker was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank on July 25 due to bad weather conditions. The sinking has killed a crew member of the tanker.
This is not the first time the Japanese government has helped the Philippines in oil recovery operations.
The Japanese government also sent a disaster relief expert team to help contain and clean up the oil spill after MT Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, sank off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, last year.
