Firm told to remove fuel from sunken ship

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday gave the owner of the sunken vessel M/V Asia Malaysia five days to remove the 21,000 liters of fuel oil from the ship to prevent a maritime disaster in Negros Occidental.

PCG commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag, who went to Iloilo to personally assess the situation, said he gave an “urgent” order to the vessel’s operator, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, to siphon the fuel from the vessel in five days to prevent an oil spill.

“Before the sunken vessel can be removed, we must first siphon its (fuel) content. There are about 18,000 to 21,000 liters of fuel, of which the composition is 40 percent bunker fuel and the remaining 60 percent automatic diesel,” Liwag said.

He also ordered the deployment of an additional vessel. Aside from the BRP Corregidor and the BRP EDSA patrolling the site, they are expecting the arrival of the PCG’s tugboat Habagat.

Liwag also instructed Trans-Asia to hire the services of a tugboat and a barge to assist the PCG’s Maritime Environment and Protection Unit’s oil spill response team in preventing the oil slick from spreading.

While the oil sheen has been contained, Liwag said, “I have ordered additional equipment, more oil spill booms. So instead of just one layer, there would be two or three layers of oil spill booms to surround the vessel.”

The PCG’s response is in compliance with the directive issued by Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas, who earlier instructed the maritime agency “to be on top of the situation and to contain the marine pollution in the area,” Liwag added.

The 2,400-ton M/V Asia Malaysia capsized after being battered by huge waves on its way to Iloilo from Cebu last July 31. All 178 onboard – 134 passengers and 44 crewmen – were safely rescued.