Oil spill recovery completed – PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The oil spill recovery operation of the sunken motor tanker Princess Empress in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro was completed on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced yesterday.

PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said crewmembers of the diving support vessel (DSV) Fire Opal reported that the motor tanker’s eight tanks are already empty based on footage from a remotely operated vehicle, with only minor oil drips and small traces of fuel detected from the Empress’ piping line.

“The tanks are already empty so they declared that the oil spill recovery in Mindoro is complete,” he said during the Saturday News Forum at the Dapo Restaurant and Bar.

Balilo also said the oil cleanup operations along the shorelines of Oriental Mindoro are 95 percent complete.

“Insofar as the recovery and shoreline cleanup, we are seeing good results,” he said.

The conclusion of the oil spill recovery ended three days ahead of the earlier projected completion on June 19, Monday.

Following the conclusion of the DSV Fire Opal’s operations, the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. (MTSC) announced that two of their tugboats would remain on-site to monitor and conduct containment operations in case of any potential oil leaks from the fuel pipes of the sunken vessel.

The PCG partnered with government agencies including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the Civil Defense, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Science and Technology and the Oriental Mindoro local government to witness the final oil removal and recovery operation conducted by MTSC.

The DSV Fire Opal was chartered by the MTSC and contracted by the Protection and Indemnity Insurance Club, Shipowners Protection Mutual, to carry out the oil removal and recovery operations.

Princess Empress was carrying around 800,000 liters of fuel oil when it sank on Feb. 28.

The PCG had said between 120,000 to 240,000 liters of oil would be removed from the sunken vessel.