Siphoning of oil from sunken tanker starts

MANILA, Philippines — Siphoning of the remaining fuel oil from the sunken motor tanker Princess Empress has started, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The dynamic support vessel Fire Opal arrived at the Calapan anchorage area on Monday.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said around 120,000 to 240,000 liters of oil in the tanker would be removed.

The vessel was chartered by Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. and contracted by Protection and Indemnity Insurance Club. It departed from Singapore on May 19 and arrived at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on May 26 before it sailed toward Oriental Mindoro.

Incident Management Team-Oriental Mindoro commander Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla said it may take 20 to 30 days, depending on the sea condition and “subsea progress,” before siphoning of the remaining oil can be completed.

“Once oil removal is completed, we hope that the process will pave the way for the rehabilitation of affected areas and finally transition to the normalcy of lives of affected Mindoreños,” Tuvilla said

Meanwhile, Balilo denied reports that the PCG received P50 million intended for fishermen affected by the oil spill.

He clarified that the PCG received P33 million, but the amount came from the Oil Pollution Management Fund, and was intended to finance oil spill cleanup.

“It was not intended to be given to affected people. The amount will be used to buy equipment such as oil spill booms and absorbent pads,” Balilo said.

Princess Empress was carrying 800,000 liters of oil when it sank in the waters off Naujan town on Feb. 28.