'Oil slick off Batanes only minimal'

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – The oil slick from a sunken Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel off the country’s northern coastline was only minimal and not that alarming, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

“The sunken ship is only a cargo vessel and its spillage is minimal. What has been seen in the area only comes from the wastage of its engine. It would have been more alarming if the ship were an oil tanker,” said Capt. George Ursabia, PCG-Northern Luzon district commander. 

Fears of a widespread oil spill off Batanes’ coastlines surfaced after reports claimed that bunker fuel from the ill-fated MV Hongwei had started to spill in the area where the vessel, which had 24 Chinese crewmen, capsized last Friday.      

Fourteen of the crewmen have been rescued and sent back home to China, while the search continues for the missing crewmembers.

Last Nov. 9, another Panamanian-registered cargo ship, the MV Nasco Diamond, with a 25-man Chinese crew, also capsized near the area. – Charlie Lagasca, Evelyn Maca­iran, Raymund Catindig