This handout photo taken on 24 July 2024 and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on 25 July shows oil tanker MT Terra Nova tilting off Manila Bay. (Handout / AFP)
- A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres
of industrial fuel oil capsized off Manila. - Heavy rains from Typhoon Gaemi exacerbated the situation,
with the Coast Guard and other authorities racing to contain the spill. - The incident poses a major environmental threat,
potentially affecting thousands of livelihoods.
A
Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil
capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they raced to
contain a spill.
The MT
Terra Nova was heading for the central city of Iloilo when it capsized in
Manila Bay, nearly seven kilometres off Limay municipality in Bataan province,
near the capital, in the early hours.
The vessel
went down as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon have
lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
An oil
spill stretching several kilometres has been detected in the busy waterway.
“We
are racing against time and we will try to do our best to contain it
immediately and stop the fuel from leaking,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson
Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said at a briefing.
This handout photo, taken on 25 July 2024, and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), shows part of the MT Terra Nova oil tanker after it sank off Manila Bay. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
He warned
that if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the biggest spill
in Philippine history.
“There
is a big danger that Manila will be affected, even the shoreline of Manila, if
the fuel will leak, because it is within Manila Bay,” Balilo said.
Thousands
of fishermen and tour operators are dependent on the waters for their
livelihoods.
Transport
Secretary Jaime Bautista said 16 of the 17 crew members had been rescued from
the stricken vessel.
A search
was underway for the missing crew member, but Bautista said strong winds and
high waves were hampering response efforts.
This handout photo taken on 25 July 2024 and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows the rescued crew (L) of oil tanker MT Terra Nova receiving first aid aboard Coast Guard ship Melchora Aquino off Manila Bay. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
Four of the
crew were receiving medical treatment.
A photo
released by the coast guard showed the MT Terra Nova almost entirely submerged
in rough seas.
Investigation
ordered
An oil
slick stretching about 3.7 kilometres was being carried by a “strong
current” in an easterly, north-easterly direction, the coast guard said in
a report.
Coast guard
Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan said he ordered a probe into the incident.
Marine
environmental protection personnel have been mobilised to help contain the
slick.
“It
will definitely affect the marine environment,” Balilo said, describing
the amount of oil on the ship as “enormous”.
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One of the
worst oil spills in the Philippines was in February 2023, when a tanker
carrying 800 000 litres of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of
Mindoro.
Diesel fuel
and thick oil from that vessel contaminated the waters and beaches along the
coast of Oriental Mindoro province, devastating the fishing and tourism
industries.
The oil
dispersed over hundreds of kilometres of waters famed for having some of the
most diverse marine life in the world.
Thousands
of fishermen were ordered to stay ashore, and swimming was banned.
In 2006, a
tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras spilling tens of thousands of
gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds
and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.
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