Iloilo News

Environment and disaster authorities in the Philippines rushed to contain an oil spill on Friday from a sunken fuel tanker that has reached coastal towns on a large central island, warning of dangers to marine ecosystems if more oil leaks. The tanker, MT Princess Empress, was still missing on Friday after sinking en route to Iloilo province carrying about 800,000 litres (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil.The vessel encountered engine trouble on Tuesday due to overheating and drifted due to rough sea conditions, according to the coast guard.

He had a visa and just the job—six months of work at sea and thousands in pay to send home. Then the virus struck.And like millions of other migrant workers who leave the Philippines to work abroad and send their earnings back to a myriad of dependents, a whole family saw its lifeline cut.“I was broke. Things were not easy for me and my family. I badly needed to go back to work at that time so I was looking forward to that trip,” said sailor Carlos Salvador Jr.Salvador was all…

The death toll from the capsize of three Philippine ferries in bad weather rose to 31 on Sunday as rescuers found more bodies, a coast guard official said.The motorised, wooden-hulled boats were carrying a total 96 passengers and crew when harsh weather conditions caused the vessels to overturn off the central island of Guimaras and Iloilo provinces on Saturday.The search continues for three more people still missing, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said. The rest of the crew and passengers were rescued.Disaster officials reported 11 deaths on Saturday.Balilo said a third ferry was not carrying passengers and…

The Philippine Coast Guard was called upon to provide assistance to two maritime incidents in Iloilo City Saturday, April 9 which resulted to the safe disposition of the vessels and crews. The first incident involved motor boat Golden Light, which encountered engine trouble at the vicinity waters of Nogas Island, Antique. Upon receipt of a report from Roque Dela Torre of Cargo Checker of Neptune Transport Inc., the personnel of Coast Guard Station (CGS) Iloilo proceeded to the area and assisted in the towing of the boat to Parola Wharf. On the same day, motor tanker Mary Queen of the Orient ran aground 20 meters away from light station Iloilo Jetty Red in Iloilo River.

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.

Cargo ship MT King Andrew ran aground in Siete Picados, Guimaras, February 4 when strong winds and currents southwest off the Light Station forced the vessel off course, the Philippines Coastguard reported. The ship master said MT King Andrew departed Lapuz Wharf in Iloilo around 11 p.m. February 3 bound for Calaca, Batangas when they encountered unfavorable weather conditions. The ship was laden with roughly 1,480 metric tons of cane molasses and 21 crew when it ran aground. Upon being notified of the incident by the ship master, Coast Guard Station (CGS) Iloilo, Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Dumangas and Marine Environmental Protection Unit-Western Visayas (MEPU-WV) personnel immediately proceeded to the area.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday gave authorities the go-ahead to offer for tender 165.6 billion pesos ($3.7 billion) worth of new infrastructure projects under his flagship Public-Private Partnership program in line with efforts to upgrade ageing roads, airports and ports. The country needs private funds to upgrade and modernise its dilapidated infrastructure as it aims to lift its growth rate upwards to 8 percent so it can catch up with its richer Southeast Asian neighbours. To be included in the pipeline of projects that could be offered to investors soon under a PPP scheme are the following: operation and maintenance of the Puerto Princesa Airport (5.23 billion pesos…

The UK P&I Club informs that its Pre-Employment Medical Examination Programme, claimed to be the world’s leading scheme for assessing the fitness of prospective seafarers, has just completed its 300,000th examination. For the past 18 years, the PEME Programme has provided crew with a first rate health check before going to sea while protecting ship owners from claims arising from medical conditions existing prior to employment. It is the leading loss prevention initiative managed by the UK P&I Club----and the most extensive and comprehensive programme of its kind.

At around 5:50 a.m. on January 19, Philippine Coast Guard Station (CGS) Iloilo received a distress call from MV Sportivo, which was anchored at Iloilo Strait between Iloilo City and Guimaras, that the cargo vessel was sinking after it was drifted from her anchored position and collided with another vessel. Immediately, the PCG Rescue Teams dispatched to the scene of incident. Subsequently, all 29 crew members were rescued, brought to CGS Iloilo Compound, and provided with necessary relief and assistance. Likewise, the survivors were given medical attention/assistance by the Iloilo City Emergency Response (ICER) Team. Initial investigation revealed that around 5:15 a.m. while doing his routinely morning inspection around the ship, Capt.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sent one of its multi-role vessels in Iloilo to help in relief efforts especially to those far flung islands greatly affected by Typhoon Yolanda. The vessel BRP Davao Del Norte (SARV-3504) arrived in the Port of Iloilo last Saturday. In a meeting with local officials from LGU, DSWD and some media, Coast Guard District Western Visayas Commander, Commo Athelo Y Ybañez divulged, he had directed the vessel and her crew to bring relief goods to islands…

The Coast Guard has rescued the passengers and crewmen of a vessel that ran aground off the coast of an Iloilo town. Commander Harold Jarder, Coast Guard chief in Iloilo, said fast craft Weesam Express I got stuck in muddy shores shortly after it left the Bacolod Port due to strong winds and big waves. The Coast Guard would have transferred the 67 passengers and 17 crewmen to the BRP Edsa 2 but could not do so due to big waves. Two tugboats towed the vessel to the Dumangas Port. [Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net]

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)

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 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.

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.

Rescuers continued their search for passengers of the Philippine ship MV Asia South Korea last week, after it sank in the Visayan Sea before dawn on Dec. 23, officials said. The death toll from the disaster in the central Philippines had risen to 41, they said. The National Disaster Coordinating Council said officials were still verifying the number of survivors, which was most recently reported to be 711. The 27-year-old ship, owned by Cebu-based Trans-Asia Shipping, sank in rough seas off Bantayan Island, 300 miles southeast of Manila, while on a 12-hour voyage from the central Philippine city of Cebu to the island of Iloilo. Survivors said they heard an explosion before the vessel went down in rough seas.…