Boat capsizes in Philippines, 7 dead
A pump boat carrying about 36 passengers and five crew memberscapsized in Iloilo-Guimaras Strait in central Philippines at around 4 p.m. on Sunday (October 18). According to the Philippine Coast Guard-Iloilo (PCG), the passenger motorboat with 41 people on board capsized in a storm, leaving seven dead and two others missing. "MB Tawash left Iloilo with 36 passengers and five crew members going to Guimaras when it was suddenly blown by strong winds in the middle of the sea causing it to capsize," says a statement from the Coast Guard. The incident was first responded by the Ocean Jet fast craft heading to Iloilo from Negros Occidental. Coast guard rescuers and passing vessels recovered 32 survivors. Among the dead were two boys aged 6 and 9 and two of the crew members.
More Oil Coming from Sunken Tanker
The Solar 1 tanker that sank off Guimaras Island is leaking more bunker fuel, thus adding to the spill that has already devastated the marine environment and affected coastal communities in the island and nearby provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the leakage started Monday night. According to official estimates, the tanker has already leaked 50,000 gallons of fuel and still has 450,000 gallons on several tanks on board, which could explode due to seawater corrosion. (Sunnex)
DoTC Forms Team to Conduct Probe on Oil Spill
On recommendations of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Arthur N. Gosingan, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro P. Mendoza formed yesterday a national board of marine inquiry (BMI) to conduct a thorough fact-finding investigation on the oil spill off Guimaras Island in Western Visayas — so far the biggest ever reported environmental disaster in the country. In a press conference held at the PCG headquarters in Port Area, Manila, Gosingan said the creation of the national BMI elevated from a special board of marine inquiry (SBMI) the status of the probe body. Mendoza named Coast Guard deputy commandant Rear Admiral Danilo A. Abinoja as the national BMI chairman.
Petron to Bring in Gear to Locate Tanker
Petron Corp. is negotiating with a Singaporean company to bring in advanced technology that would determine the exact location of the oil tanker that sank off Guimaras island and siphon off the remaining bunker oil still in the vessel. Lori Tan of the World Wide Fund said Petron, which chartered the ill-fated M/T Solar I, will bring in deep-sea contractors who will use a side scan zoner to determine the wreck’s actual location on the seabed, a remotely piloted submersible to find the leak, and hot tap to siphon the oil that is still contained in the tanker’s hold. Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes and Tan believe the cleanup might take two years if all the needed technology and assistance arrive soon.
Bunker Fuel Spill Threatens Environmental Disaster
The Coast Guard and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday were racing against time to prevent a major environmental disaster as oil seeped from a tanker that sank between Guimaras and Negros Islands Friday. The spill is threatening marine life and the tourism industry of Western Visayas, officials said, and moving closer to Negros Occidental. The Coast Guard in Bacolod had a Marine Environment Protection Unit, assisted by trained personnel of oil firms in the province, on standby to set up spill booms in case the oil slick approaches Negros, to help prevent its entry into the area, Chief Petty Officer Cornelio Barbasa said.
