Oil sheen spotted from sunken vessel

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities are preparing for a possible oil spill in Batangas after an oil sheen was seen coming from a fishing boat that capsized in the waters off Calatagan over the weekend.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday said the F/B Anita DJ II was loaded with 70,000 liters of marine diesel oil when it sank near Cape Santiago in Barangay Bagong Silang on Sunday.

No one was reported injured in the incident.

All 13 crewmembers of the Anita DJ II were rescued by a PCG multipurpose vessel and another fishing boat that happened to be nearby when the incident occurred.

Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, chief of the PCG-Southern Tagalog District gave assurance that the incident would not cause massive damage similar to the devastation brought by the sinking of motor tanker Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro.

The Empress was carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel when it sank in the waters off Naujan town in February.

The incident caused a massive oil spill that affected not only Oriental Mindoro, but also Antique, Batangas and Palawan.

The incident resulted in the filing of charges against several officials and owners of the Empress as well as of the Maritime Industry Authority or MARINA.

“We have monitored the oil sheen coming out of the FB Anita DJ II. It is easier to combat the oil sheen as marine diesel oil easily dissipates in the waves or when exposed to sunlight… It has low viscosity,” Tuvilla said.

“We have deployed a ship and we use water cannons to disperse the marine diesel oil,” he said.

Tuvilla said the oil sheen was confined in the middle of the sea and would not reach the shore.

The PCG has alerted local government units, nearby communities and resort owners about the situation.

An incident management team was deployed in the area to assess and better monitor the situation as well as immediately respond if any problem arises.

The owner of the fishing boat, IRMA Fishing, was told to furnish the PCG useful information that could shed light on the incident.

“We have alerted other vessels that a fishing boat had sank so they could avoid passing through the area,” Tuvilla said.

The Anita DJ II was headed to Palawan from the Navotas port when it figured in the accident.