Removal of bunker fuel from sunken Princess begins

Divers from the Philippine Coast Guard and two salvage firms began yesterday the retrieval of bunker fuel from the capsized M/V Princess of the Stars, officials said.

In a phone interview, PCG Commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said teams from the PCG and salvaging firms Titan Maritime Inc. and Harbor Star started the extraction of 250,000 liters of bunker fuel from the sunken vessel yesterday morning.

M/V Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province on June 21 at the height of typhoon “Frank.” It was carrying more than 800 passengers and crewmembers.

Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista said on Saturday that the salvaging teams had recovered all the toxic chemicals from the vessel.

Bautista said 30 bags of Tamaron (600L Metemidophos), 30 bags of Fuerza (GR3 Carbofuran), 15 packages of Trap (70 Niclosamide), and 382 kilos of Antracol (WP Propineb) were all recovered.

Bautista, who heads Task Force M/V Princess of the Stars, said the retrieval of the remaining hazardous chemicals was completed ahead of schedule, as in the case of the toxic pesticide endosulfan.

“The salvors have already finished retrieving the 402 barrels of Del Monte-owned endosulfan, each weighing 25 kilos, five days ahead of schedule. Packed in drums and then placed in three 20-foot containers, the 10 tons of the banned toxic substance have been turned over to the custody of Task Force Princess of the Stars as ordered by the court,” Bautista told ABS-CBN.

The endosulfan cargo is being repacked before it is brought back to Israel.

After the recovery of the bunker fuel, Tamayo said the next step is the retrieval of the remains of passengers and crewmen trapped inside the vessel when it capsized.

Tamayo is confident that the entire retrieval operations will be completed before the initial Oct. 24 deadline.