Aerial view of a ship at sea.
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An oil tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel capsized off the coast of the Philippines, causing one casualty and a massive oil spill, local authorities said on Thursday.
At 1:10 a.m. Philippine time, the Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova submerged 3.6 nautical miles east of Limai, Bataan. The country’s cost defender said in a statement.
According to MarineTraffic.com, the ship had left Limai bound for the Philippine port of Iloilo.
Commander-in-Chief Rear Adm. Armando Barillo said 16 of the 17 crew members on board had been rescued, with four staff members currently receiving further medical care. Authorities later confirmed that the bodies of the missing crew members had been found, in a later update.
The Coast Guard said it was currently dealing with the oil spill and planned to complete the work of pumping fuel from the sunken tanker within seven days to prevent the oil spill from spreading further. As part of the operation, three 44-meter multi-purpose response vessels have been deployed.
Admiral Galvan, Commander-in-Chief of the Coast Guard, explained: “The vessels will begin using dispersants to immediately mitigate the impact, especially during preparations for siphoning.”, The Coast Guard coordinates its efforts with multiple oil spill response organizations.
“The ship sank at a depth of 34 meters, which is quite shallow. The siphon technology does not require much skill and can be done quickly to protect the waters around Bataan and Manila Bay from environmental, social, economic, financial and political impacts,” Barillo said. .
Philippine Coast Guard Aviation Command Alone Alert It has deployed air assets to conduct search and rescue missions to the sunken tanker.
The incident occurred as Typhoon Gemi, known as Karina in the Philippines, dumped heavy rains and strong winds, as well as seasonal heavy monsoon rains that battered Manila and its surrounding areas. estimated population Nearly 15 million. Gemi made landfall on the east coast of Taiwan, causing severe flooding in the Philippine capital and prompting the Metropolitan Manila Council to declare a state of disaster in the city.
More than 94,000 people have been displaced by flooding in the National Capital Region (NCR) as of 10pm local time on Tuesday, officials said at a meeting. briefing With Philippine President Bangbang Marcos.
The Coast Guard’s Balillo said there was no public storm warning signal over Bataan when the MT Terra Nova left Limay, so the ship “did not violate rules and regulations related to the movement of vessels during severe weather.”
Back in late February 2023, the Philippines experienced one of its worst oil spills – typically extremely damaging to the marine environment and challenging and expensive to clean up. The Empress suffered engine failure in rough seas and a ship carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel sank near the central province of Oriental Mindoro.
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