Oil spill may hit Cebu City

CEBU, Philippines - After damaging some coastal areas in Talisay City and majority of Cordova town, the oil spill from M/V St. Thomas Aquinas now threatens Cebu City waters according to City Councilor Gerry Carillo who is part of the provincial crisis management group.

“This morning (Wednesday), we had an aerial inspection and noticed that oil is now heading towards Cebu city. No more oil is going to Lapulapu (Mactan island) area as these are trapped along mangrove forest,” Carillo said during yesterday afternoon’s command conference from the Cebu city hall.

The good news is, 2GO-tapped experts announced that one of the two holes has been plugged preventing further leakage from oil containers inside the wrecked ship.

Councilor Dave Tumulak earlier expressed worry over oil spill reaching Cebu City after a meeting with PAGASA officials who told him that a change of sea current caused by the weakening of southwest monsoon or habagat would mean oil may get into waters of the city.

Harold Alcontin of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CCDRRMC) also presented results of their own inspection and mapping of oil spill extent confirming what Carillo said.

“We conducted mapping this morning (Wednesday) with South Road Properties as the point of origin. We noticed that 1.72 kilometers from our shores, there is already oil,” Alcontin said.

The inspection further yielded that it is best to put mitigating measures near Tongo Island right across SRP and Cordova town waters.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the city is preparing for a declaration of state of calamity should oil reach the city’s jurisdiction.

“This is to emphasize that even before this revelation, the office of vice mayor Edgar Labella together with Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos, Councilor Hans Abella and Tumulak have been initiating natural mitigating steps in containing oil spill,” Rama said.

Labella earlier suggested the use of human hair and other indigenous materials to be made into an oil spill boom wrapped in stockings or net announcing Compania Maritima as the drop-off point for donations from concerned Cebuanos.

Captain Daniel Sarmiento of Malayan Towerage and Salvage confirmed that hair boom could actually help a lot in preventing spread of oil spill as a temporary measure.

Furthermore, the mayor said the command center inside the mayor’s office will continue to operate and monitor developments.

The 24/7 multi-sectoral center is composed of representatives from CCDRRMC, Waterfront Police Station, City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) and other city government offices like the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement (PROBE).

It will approximately take two weeks before oil spill is totally contained based on the initial dive and assessment from Malayan, Nippon Salvage, and International Tanker Oil Pollution Federation (ITOPF).

Described by 2GO AVP for Shipping Management Lito Salvio as “happy development”, they announced that one of the two identified holes was plugged with assurance of no further leakage from the particular container.

The technical divers also noted minimal oil leakage from the earlier leaking container, Sarmiento said.

“If the vessel were a fuel tanker, the damage could have been worse. But since it was a passenger ship, the damage is not alarming,“ Salvio said, adding trapped fuel oil remains underwater since most of the leaked oil already rose to surface.

The first plugging was done during yesterday’s first dive, he added.

Japanese salvage master Jiro Ohkubo assured Rama during the command conference that Nippon Salvage is very experienced in this field and that he is pleased to help Cebu in containing the oil spill.

Together with Ohkubo were salvage divers Micharu Ardo and Masakazu Nozaki.

Grant Go of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation said that as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the company that owns the cargo ship M/V Sulpicio Express Siete that collided with the passenger ship has turned over oil dispersants to the Coast Guard.

Affected representatives from affected hotels and resorts also attended yesterday’s 5 p.m. command conference including Shangri-La Hotel Resort and Spa, Movenpick Resort and Spa, Crimson Resort and Plantation Bay Resort.

The resorts accordingly closed parts of the beach front and used linens in absorbing oil preventing further damage.

Salvio said they are currently reconciling data and numbers with the Coast Guard to correct conflicting figures coming out in the news.

A simplified map and drawings of technical assessment from tapped experts will be provided in the coming days, Salvio said.

Priority of 2GO is plugging the leak and salvaging the ship, he added. —(FREEMAN)