MANILA, Philippines — The oil spill from the sunken tanker MT Terra Nova has begun reaching the waters of Hagonoy, Bulacan, a local-based environmental group, Greenpeace Philippines, said.
In a Facebook post, the group shared that the extent of the spill has reached approximately 4 kilometers from the coastline around 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.
“Filipino coastal communities are bracing for an imminent environmental disaster while recovering from extreme floods due to #CarinaPH,” Greenpeace Philippines said.
Following reports and satellite photos from Karagatan Patrol showing an oil slick in Hagonoy, the group said Barangay officials from Isla Tibaguin confirmed the sightings, having encountered the oil while fishing the night before.
According to the organization, when the climate groups visited the site in the morning, they did not encounter any personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“The team did not encounter any Philippine Coast Guard personnel in the morning when they went to the site,” Greenpeace said.
It has also called out President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to act swiftly on the issue; for his part, the latter has already ordered the creation of a task force for the Bataan oil spill.
Earlier, the PCG deployed a number of vessels to the scene to monitor for pollution and discovered an oil slick on the water and has said it observed a “minimal leak” but “not yet alarming.”
“There is a minimal leak seen on the valve of the oil tanker, but it is not yet alarming,” said Rear Adm. Armand Balilo, spokesperson for the PCG.
Meanwhile, the spill sighting in Bulacan coincided with another report from the PCG saying another tanker called Jason Bradley sank off the coast of Barangay Cabcaben in the municipality of Mariveles, Bataan.
The MTKR Jason Bradley had sunk to a depth of 9 meters, about 600 yards away from the shore.
The 39-meter motor tanker was found to be loaded with “diesel cargo” of an unknown quantity, despite the shipping company’s claim that the vessel had no cargo on board.
Coast Guard divers capped the leak, as the PCG response team was now working on removing the diesel cargo with the help of a contracted salvor.
On Thursday, July 25, the MT Terra Nova capsized in the waters off Lamao Point in Limay town, Bataan, while carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil. There were 17 crew members aboard, and 16 of them were rescued while one crew member went missing. Almost 14 hours after the ship sank, a PCG search team discovered the dead body of the lone missing crew member.
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