Oil sheen spotted in incident site

ILOILO CITY , Philippines   â€” A cargo vessel, carrying 28,000 sacks of fertilizer, sank off Iloilo Strait last Sunday, but all its 29 crew members were rescued by passenger pumpboats plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route.

A few hours after the incident, an oil sheen was confirmed to have been spotted in the area where the M/V Sportivo sunk, according to Commodore Athelo Ybañez, Phil. Coast Guard-Western Visayas commander, yesterday.

In an oil spill monitoring conducted yesterday morning, Ybañez said the oil sheen was around five meters in width, stretching about two kilometers going to Jordan town in Guimaras.

When M/V Sportivo sank off, it was carrying 12,000 liters of  bunker fuel, 1,000 liters of special fuel number 60, and 200 liters of lube.

The PCG-Western Visayas then ordered for the immediate refloating of M/V Sportivo. Ybañez said he already talked to the representatives of Cebu-based Seen Sam Shipping, Inc., owner of the vessel, for salvage operations.

"They (Seen Sam Shipping) are now in talks with the insurer and the salvage company that would refloat the vessel," Ybañez said, while villages where the oil sheen was spotted have been alerted.

M/V Sportivo's 29 crew members were all rescued by passenger pumpboats after the incident. The crew members, except for six, boarded their sister ship bound for Cebu. "The six will be with us in our oil spill monitoring activities," Ybañez said.

Reports said the vessel sought refuge at the Iloilo designated anchorage area along the Iloilo Strait, around 1,500 yards from the mouth of the Iloilo River, following bad weather conditions brought by tropical depression Agaton.

The M/V Sportivo, dropped off its anchor Saturday along Iloilo Strait and was supposed to sail to Palawan around 5 a.m. when big waves and strong winds pounded the vessel.

Nemesio Igona, M/V Sportivo master, said the vessel's anchor got dragged and caused it to collide with another cargo vessel, M/V Jehan 5, which was carrying sacks of cement to be delivered to Iloilo City.

The ill-fated vessel sustained a hole in its hull and went underwater in a matter of 15 minutes. Visual inspection also revealed that M/V Jehan 5 only incurred minimal damage.

Aside from Sportivo and Jehan, four other ships were in the anchorage refuge to seek shelter from bad weather condition Saturday.

Another marine incident took place in Malay, Aklan before dawn Sunday when a roll-on roll-off vessel ran aground after being buffeted by heavy seas, the PCG-W. Visayas told GMA-7 News.

"Initial information from the master of the vessel revealed that MV Starlite Atlantic with 31 crew members onboard was anchored at Caticlan Anchorage Area when its anchor chain was cut due to strong winds and big waves causing it to be dragged to its present position," according to the PCG-W. Visayas. (FREEMAN)