‘Very thin oil sheens’ seen from 2 vessels — PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continues to monitor the “very thin oil sheens” seen from two of the three vessels that sank and ran aground off Bataan.

Oil spill booms are still present in the areas where tanker MT Terra Nova sank in Limay and where MV Mirola 1 beached on the shores of Mariveles, according to the Coast Guard.

It said the PCG is performing “continuous repositioning and maintaining of oil spill booms” for the Terra Nova as well as “monitors oil spill booms and continues oil recovery and containment” on the Mirola 1.

The PCG reported the “presence of very thin oil sheens on ground zero” of Terra Nova.

Previously, the agency rated the oil spill from the sunken tanker at one liter per hour following the installation of canvas caps that sealed the valves of the tanks containing an estimated 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel.

It is also awaiting the fabrication and installation of metal caps that will replace the canvas caps within two weeks, according to an estimate given to the PCG by the salvage company in charge of performing the upcoming siphoning operation for the Terra Nova.

Meanwhile, the PCG had “recovered 790 liters of oil-water mixture and five sacks of contaminated oil debris using absorbent pads” from MV Mirola 1 as of yesterday.

On the other hand, the PCG and another salvage company “continue salvage operations” for sunken tanker MT Jason Bradley, as they were preparing equipment and personnel on the site as of yesterday.

“Divers prepare for pipe insertion by clearing debris,” the PCG said.

Safe

Meanwhile, a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday assured the public of the safety of fish sold in the markets amid a drop in demand following the oil spill off Limay, Bataan.

At a press briefing, DA Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said that fish at the Navotas fish port were examined by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

“The BFAR regularly inspects the fish at Navotas fish port and conducts sensory evaluation, plus the fish delivered there came from other areas before distributing to other markets,” De Mesa added.

The DA official noted that fish from the Navotas fish port came from Lucena, Quezon and other provinces and not from areas affected by the oil spill.

“(Fish sold in markets) are guaranteed safe based on the assurance of the BFAR as a fishing ban is being implemented in areas affected by the oil spill,” he said.

At the same time, De Mesa assured the public of enough fish supply despite many areas being affected by the oil spill.

“As of now, (the supply) is not affected as based on the latest data from our municipal ports, the catch is higher compared to the same period last year and those affected are not the major source,” he said.

He added the DA would provide a P3,000 fuel subsidy to help fisherfolk affected by the oil spill.

“We have a P500-million budget for (the fuel subsidy),” De Mesa said.

He added that the BFAR would continue to provide relief assistance to areas affected by the oil spill after food packs were distributed to fisherfolk in Noveleta, Cavite over the weekend. — Bella Cariaso