Government races to stop environmental disaster from oil spill

The Philippine Coast Guard said yesterday it was racing against time to prevent a major environmental disaster as oil seeped from a tanker that sunk in heavy seas over the weekend.

The tanker, Solar I, was carrying two million liters of bunker oil when it sank off the central island of Guimaras on Saturday.

Sixteen crewmen were rescued while two were still reported missing.

Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes yesterday ordered an investigation on the oil spill off Guimaras province to determine possible liabilities of the owner of the sunken tanker.

In a press conference Reyes also asked Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., owner of the Solar I, to immediately submit its Environment Impact Assessment report to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the DENR to determine whether SMDC complied with environment requisites.

The Coast Guard warned that oil from the tanker threatens rich marine resources in the area and could threaten Boracay island, famous for its white sandy beaches.

A spokesman for the Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander Joseph Coyme, said booms have been placed around the site of the sunken tanker to try and contain the oil.

"We cannot discount the possibility that the extent of the spillage and damage could reach all coastal areas around Panay and Negros islands, including the beaches of Boracay," he said.

He said a number of government agencies had been drafted in to help clean up the spill, including the government-owned petroleum company Petron Corp., which had chartered the vessel.

Coyme said the hardest hit areas so far were the coastal fishing villages of Guimaras.

He said the weather would determine how quickly the oil would spread, adding that vessels were spraying the affected area with dispersants.

Based on previous spills, Coyme said it could take more than a year to clean up the mess.

An attempt by divers to plug the leaks in the tanker failed Sunday.

Meanwhile, Reyes said "the oil spill will have adverse impact on the environment. I have ordered an investigation on the incident to determine the civil and criminal liability of the company. We must not compromise the country’s aquatic resources," Reyes said.

Based on the Coordination Report issued by Bienvenido Lipayon, director of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 6, the oil tanker sank at 4:10 p.m. on Aug. 11 at 16.5 nautical miles from Lusaran Point, Barangay Tando, Nueva Valencia in Guimaras and 30 nautical miles from Iloilo City.

The sunken tanker, which was chartered by Petron Corp., was carrying 2 million liters of industrial fuel oil and was en route to Zamboanga from Bataan. The tanker sank at 2, 000-feet below sea level, the same report stated.

Lipayon furthered that the oil spill would affect Nueva Valencia and Sibunag municipality in Guimaras province; and western portion of Negros Occidental, threatening the municipalities of San Enrique and Valladolid and Bago City, depending on sea conditions. — AFP, Katherine Adraneda, Edu Punay