Rains suspend aerial survey of oil slick off Catanduanes

VIRAC, Catanduanes, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard has put on hold the aerial survey of waters 34 nautical miles east of Catanduanes, where an oil slick was reported following Sunday’s sinking of a Japanese-owned cargo vessel that was carrying nearly 10,000 tons of iron ore sand from Leyte.

Heavy rains were approaching Virac from the east as of 8 a.m. on Friday, said an official of the 905th Squadron of the PCG Auxiliary based in Virac, who requested not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council convened in an emergency meeting Thursday morning after fishermen reported the sighting of oil slick where the cargo vessel sank.

Ramil Avila, 40, who has been fishing in the area for more than 20 years, said they decided to keep off the sea after they found their lines and nets coated with black oil and gobs of the same substance floating on the water.

Avila also pointed to streaks of oil on the lower part of his motorized banca’s wooden hull.

The oil is believed to be from M/V Sun Spirits, a Panama-registered cargo vessel owned by a Japanese company which sank around 6 a.m. Sunday.

The ship started listing at around 2 p.m. Saturday after its cargo of iron ore sand got wet and shifted to one side of the vessel, according to Korean national Cha Chi Moon, the ship’s chief engineer.

The 10,400-ton ship was carrying 9,970 tons of iron ore sand from Leyte for export to China. Its crew of two Koreans and 12 Indonesians were rescued by a passing fishing banca from Bato town and M/V Oriental Xanadu three hours after the sinking.

Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, who requested for the aerial survey, said they have to first determine the size and precise location of the slick before personnel and sea assets could be deployed to contain it.

The ship was carrying 290 tons of bunker fuel, equivalent to 290,000 liters, and 36,000 liters of diesel fuel when it sank, according to Captain Felipe Macababad, deputy commander of the Philippine Coast Guard in Bicol (PCG-5).

Macababad said PCG-5 has dispatched a seven-man marine environment protection group to the area. They brought with them equipment that included oil booms, high pressure pumps and backpack sprayers to prevent oil from hitting coastal shores.

A cargo ship owned by the governor’s family, M/V Fernando, was also sent to the area to contain the growing patch of oil leaking from M/V Sun Spirits, which was resting more than a kilometer below the surface of the sea.

MV Fernando’s skipper, Captain Raul Camacho, has been instructed to coordinate with the PCG regarding the laying of the oil spill boom, Cua said.

Twelve personnel coming from the provincial rescue team, the Philippine Red Cross Emergency Response Unit and a fishery specialist would be joining the PCG team in the effort to contain the slick, Cua said.

The barangay DRRM councils were also activated to monitor the presence of the slick and the possible effects on the environment and health of the people.

Provincial health officer Lubella Sanchez advised local authorities to caution residents against eating fish caught in the oil spill area, citing possible adverse effects.

For now, some fishermen from coastal villages of the three towns nearest the oil slick have decided to stay at home, anticipating that the government would prohibit them from catching fish in the area. With a report from Mar Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon