PCG wants sunken vessel re-floated

ILOILO CITY, Philippines   â€“ The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Western Visayas has ordered the immediate re-floating of a cargo vessel that sank in the waters off Iloilo province Sunday morning.

Commodore Athelo Ybañez, commander of the PCG-Western Visayas, confirmed that oil sheen have been spotted in the area where the M/V Sportivo submerged.

Ybañez said they are monitoring possible oil leaks from the vessel.

“The Sportivo might have sustained a hole but it is far from the fuel tanks. An oil sheen was seen but it might have came from the oil and water mixture,” he said.

As of yesterday morning, Ybañez said the oil sheen was about five meters wide and has stretch to about two kilometers going to Jordan town in Guimaras.

He said the vessel’s chief engineer Constantino Cortez told them they were able to close all the fuel tanks and pipelines before abandoning the ship.

When the Sportivo sank, it was reportedly carrying 12,000 liters of bunker fuel, 1,000 liters of special fuel, and 200 liters of lube oil.

Ybañez said he had talked to the representatives of Cebu-based Seen Sam Shipping, Inc., owner of Sportivo, for the salvage operation.

“They are now in talks with the insurer and the salvage company that would re-float the vessel,” he added.

Sportivo’s 29 crew men were rescued by motorboats after it sank along the Iloilo Strait following a collision with another vessel, the M/VJehan 5.

The crew members, except for six, boarded their sister ship bound for Cebu.

“The six will be with us in our oil spill monitoring activities,” Ybañez said. – With Evelyn Macairan