By SERAFIN RAMOS JR.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (August 13, 2001) – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has allayed fears the oil sheen monitored yesterday to be about 4.4 nautical miles off Maasim, Sarangani would reach the shoreline.
Commander Roy Echeverria, acting commander of the PCG station here, assured local officials of Sarangani in a briefing at the PCG headquarters yesterday there are no signs that the oil sheen may be moving towards land.
“Right now containment is ongoing in the spill area,” Echeverria said. “We have enough equipment and dispersants to really combat this oil spill. Fortunately for us the current is seaward so it is going out.”
Echeverria briefed Vice Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, who was leading the provincial government’s disaster risk reduction team, Maasim Mayor Jose Zamorro, environment officers and the province’s legal team.
Cargo vessel M/V Bulk Carrier 1 which sank off Maasim five days ago leaked oil and PCG personnel sprayed dispersants Thursday to contain the oil slick.
M/V Bulk Carrier 1 sank after colliding with the larger Monrovian-registered M/V HS Puccini.
The PCG officer said M/V Bulk Carrier 1 used a special oil or automotive diesel oil which is easier to clean than bunker fuel.
According to the sunken vessel’s second engineer, who is the one in charge of the fuel, there were two tanks of 3,000 liters each fitted with “water tank integrity device.”
“Unfortunately yung left side nya (port side), doon nabangga kung saan situated yung isang tangke,” Echeverria said. “So we can say that we are expecting here 3,000 liters of special oil.”
He said the vessel went down between 400 and 500 fathoms according to maritime chart.
“Yung dini-discharge nya na oil, pagdating sa taas, talagang manipis na manipis na sya. So pagdating sa taas in fact hindi na natin kailangan ng dispersants,” Echeverria said.
PCG personnel have been deployed to Maasim conducting basic seminar on shoreline protection just in case the oil reaches land.
“We have the salvors, they are well-equipped, with two tugs. We have the Coast Guard vessels, more than enough to guard that spill is contained,” Echeverria explained. “We don’t need to layout the spill booms because we just do that in the recovery of oil.”
Echeverria said the oil sheen being observed “will naturally just disperse and it will just evaporate.”
However, the PCG is monitoring the spill area daily.
He pointed out the oil spill was not massive. “I don’t think it will cause so much damage to our marine environment,” Echeverria said.
Vice Gov. Solon noted the oil slick was “subsiding” and asked the PCG for documents regarding the accident and documentation of PCG investigation.
Atty. Arnel Zapatos, provincial legal officer, said the local government was concerned because the vessel sank inside Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape.
However, Zapatos concurred with Echeverria’s explanation there was no cause of action because the oil spill did not hit land.
Zapatos said the local government would have a “continuing monitoring of what will happen next.”
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), Environmental Conservation and Protection Center, and Environmental Management Bureau took water samples of the spill area yesterday.
The teams reported “the oil is hardly visible now.” (Serafin Ramos Jr./SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)
No comments:
Post a Comment