Probe finds Solar I captain liable for Guimaras oil spill

After a two-week investigation, the Coast Guard’s Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) declared the owners of the sunken Solar I oil tanker, its skipper and some maritime officials liable for the country’s worst ecological disaster off Guimaras Island.

In a three-page report, , the BMI claimed the skipper of Solar I, Capt. Norberto Aguro, failed to "exercise due diligence in making the vessel seaworthy."

The BMI also held oil giant Petron Corp. liable for overloading the vessel that contributed heavily to the sinking of the ship last Aug. 11.

The report said overloading resulted in "loss of residual stability" of Solar I that made it sink, triggering the worst ecological disaster in recent years.

BMI chairman Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja said Petron should have only filled 98 percent of its cargo but they exceeded by 0.7 percent.

Petron, however, denied any overloading of the vessel for its part.

"As far as we are concerned, there was no overloading," Petron public affairs manager Virginia Ruivivar said.

"We only loaded 98 percent by volume (2.19 million of 2.24 liters) and 97 percent by weight (2,064 metric tons of 2,128 MT) of the ship’s capacity. We have meters at our refinery to ensure that the proper volume is loaded," Ruivivar pointed out.

Ruivivar added Petron is ready to face the charges. "We are fully transparent and we are confident that the facts will bear us out."

The panel said the findings indicate Aguro is administratively liable for steering the oil tanker without adequate training.

The BMI said Aguro violated several maritime laws in steering the oil tanker until it sank off Guimaras.

The violations include navigating with an expired license, specifically on his Advanced Training on Chemical Operations certificate, a violation of Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) regulations and the Professional Regulation Commission.

Aguro was only qualified to operate chemical tankers, not oil tankers, the report said.

The BMI said Aguro committed an error in judgment in failing to ensure the vessel was seaworthy.

Abinoja explained Aguro’s liability over the loss of his ship as failing to check its "reserve buoyancy."

"The ship is like a box, it needs air to keep it afloat. Once it is filled with water, it loses its capacity to float," Abinoja said.

The owners of the ship, Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SMDC), on the other hand, had "disregarded all mandated regulations, policies and requirements for seaworthiness of the vessel and other due diligent efforts in making the vessel seaworthy."

The panel observed the loadline of the Solar I went down from 1,220 millimeters to 700 mm, overloading by approximately 150 tons of Petron’s lubricant and fuel.

The tanker was contracted by Petron to carry two million liters (500,000 gallons) of bunker oil when it sank 24 kilometers off Guimaras coast on Aug. 11.

The report explained the other factor in the sinking of the ship was its loss of residual stability.

It reportedly tilted some 15 to 20 degrees on its starboard side, causing it to lose balance before it capsized and sank.

This prompted Aguro to order his crew to abandon ship, leaving its contents to spill out to sea, the report said.

Held equally liable for the disaster are officials of Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Coast Guard, which the BMI said, had committed lapses in the performance of their mandated functions.

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza directed Marina to file charges against Aguro, the SMDC and Petron.

Mendoza ordered the "indefinite" suspension of Aguro and SMDC operations until the criminal and civil investigation is completed.

The Coast Guard was also directed to rush the proposal of rerouting the tankers while Marina was tasked to immediately implement the double hull requirement on oil and chemical tankers.

Mendoza said Marina and the Coast Guard should "review and amend (their) policies on maritime safety" as recommended by the BMI to prevent a similar disaster.

At the same time, Mendoza directed Marina and Coast Guard to conduct separate investigations on the liability of their officials and personnel over the incident.

Mendoza said he had specifically created the BMI to look further into the lapses of some government agencies involved in implementing maritime laws.

More charges

As this developed, Guimaras local officials led by Nueva Valencia Mayor Diosdado Gonzaga filed criminal charges against SMDC and Petron.

Gonzaga accused the SMDC of violating the Clean Water Act, the provisions of Clean Air act and the Solid Waste Management law in the sinking of Solar I.

Guimaras provincial legal officer Plaridel Nava explained Petron and SMDC violated the three environmental laws because of the oil spill which derailed the economy and tourism activity in the island province.

Lawmakers, for their part, chided the BMI for allowing one of its members to leak out the findings a day before the official announcement was made.

According to Reps. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, Rolex Suplico of Iloilo City, Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora and Loretta Ann Rosales of party-list Akbayan, the release of the unnamed official’s "personal findings" regarding the Guimaras oil spill caused panic among local residents. — With Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Ronilo Pamonag, Raisa Austral