Chemical dispersant no longer needed to address oil spill

CEBU, Philippines - There is no need to use a chemical dispersant to address the oil spill from the sunken M/V St. Thomas Aquinas at Lawis Ledge.

This according to Commodore William Milad, district commander of the Philippine Coast Guard, following an inspection of the area by experts from the International Tankers Oil Pollution Federation (ITOPF).

Milad said yesterday's survey showed lesser oil is leaking from the sunken 2GO ship.

Dr. Michael O'Brien of ITOPF gave local authorities technical advice on how to address the spill. 2GO Shipping is a subscriber of ITOPF, an organization that deals with vessels, especially tankers.

Technical divers found no additional bodies from the sunken ship. As of yesterday, 109 bodies have been retrieved and 29 remain missing.

Lito Salvio, area vice president of 2GO, said a pump ship from Japan will arrive in Subic, Zambales today before proceeding to Cebu on September 6 or 7.

"As soon as the vessel arrived from Japan, the siphoning will start and then the target…we are looking September 30," Salvio said.

The pump, as earlier explained to Malayan Towage and Salvage engineer Noel Kimmayong, is the equipment that will remove the remaining bunker oil trapped inside the sunken ship, which is lying on its left at the sea bed.

Meanwhile, 2Go Ormoc Manager Calvin Rosellosa who is tasked to monitor the situation in badly-hit Cordova town said clean-up efforts are now on their post crisis stage.

"Very soon, we will turn the operations over to a professional cleanup team to continue the coastal cleanup," Rosellosa reported to Mayor Michael Rama, Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation VP Grant Go and Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes manager Engr. Bong Ebo.

Moreover, the 2Go manager assured constant monitoring on the reported spread of oil to neighboring areas and added that "we are very happy that as of the moment, the areas initially reported to have spill are clear."

Salvio also noted mentioning to Governor Hilario Davide III the help that the city government is extending in terms of oil spill booms made of coconut husk through the Bantay Dagat Commission, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and Councilor Dave Tumulak. — (FREEMAN)