Guimaras braces for algal bloom, fish kill from sunken vessel

CEBU, Philippines - Guimaras provincial officials are now taking steps to prevent an algal bloom that could cause a fish kill, due to the oil spill from a sunken vessel loaded with bunker fuel and fertilizer off the Iloilo-Guimaras area last Jan. 19.

The Guimaras provincial government demanded the owner of the sunken M/V Sportivo to immediately refloat the vessel, Iloilo-based news site The Daily Guardian reported Tuesday.

So far, Moderes said five companies have offered their services to Seen Sam, owner of the sunken vessel, to refloat the M/V Sportivo.

Guimaras Task Force Sportivo head Raymund Moderes was concerned over the 28,000 sacks of fertilizer inside the ship will cause algal bloom, which is the sudden increase in algae in a body of water that could produce toxins and deplete oxygen supply in the water, which in turn may lead to fish kills.

The task force and representatives of the sunken vessel’s owners had started a coastal cleanup at Barangay Hoskyn in Jordan town in Guimaras.

Hoskyn is one of the areas affected by oil spill from the M/V Sportivo ship that sank off the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait after it collided with another vessel, M/V Jehan 5 last Jan. 19.

The Daily Guardian report further said local authorities also confirmed an oil spill in Sawang village of Buenavista town in Guimaras. (FREEMAN)