Oil siphoning from Terra Nova stopped due to Enteng

MANILA, Philippines — Rough sea conditions due to Tropical Storm Enteng prompted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to stop the oil siphoning operations on the sunken motor tanker Terra Nova yesterday.

“The contracted salvor, Harbor Star, secured all siphoning lines and containment equipment, closed all hot taps and postponed the transfer of oily waste,” the PCG said.

Transport of up to 698,000 liters of siphoned oily materials to a waste management facility in Marilao, Bulacan was deferred due to the bad weather.

The Harbor Star has so far collected a total of 1.25 million liters of oily waste from the Terra Nova, with the highest volume extracted on Sunday at 222,332 liters.

“The Harbor Star deployed additional pumps, which sped up the siphoning process on Sunday,” the PCG said.

The Terra Nova was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel when it capsized in the waters off Limay, Bataan at the height of Typhoon Carina on July 25.

Meanwhile, the FES Challenger, the contractor for the refloating of motor tanker Jason Bradley, also suspended its operations yesterday due to Enteng.

The salvor has yet to complete the resealing and patching of the vessel’s manhole and air vents, respectively, which are necessary for the refloating of the tanker.

The Jason Bradley was loaded with 5,500 liters of diesel when it sank on July 26.

The PCG has secured the motor vessel Mirola 1, which is currently docked at the Diving Industry Shipyard in Mariveles, Bataan, after it ran aground on July 23.