Cleanup efforts were underway on blackened beaches on a central Philippine island Thursday after a spill from a sunken oil tanker washed ashore, the country’s environment minister said, as fears of economic and environmental damage grew.
The oil spill in the town of Naujan on the island of Mindoro reached the shores of the next four municipalities on the island’s east coast around noon Thursday, and appeared to be flowing further south, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Loyzaga said in a statement.
800,000 liters of fuel
While sailing into rough seas off Naujan on Tuesday, the Empress Putri capsized with a cargo of 800,000 liters (210,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil.
Another ship rescued the 20 crew members on board, but the Empress Princess leaked some cargo into the sea after initially spilling diesel fuel that powered the ship, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
Environmental personnel “are now focused on coastal cleanup” because of the affected shoreline, Loyzaga said.
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The divers will also assess the impact on coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass, as “the possibility of contamination could affect the viability of these systems”.
He added: “We expect that these efforts will require personnel to be on the job for some time.”
The spill had spread over 24 square kilometers (nine square miles) of water by Wednesday, the coastguard said earlier.
It is not known how much diesel fuel and industrial oil are in the water.
Provincial governor Humerlito Dolor said the search was still on for the tanker that was attacked, about 460 meters (1,500 feet) under the sea.
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“The coast guard assured us that they are ready to absorb the oil once they have identified (the location),” Dolor told local media.
“Unfortunately, after two aerial surveillance (flights) we still cannot find the exact location of the ship.”
Tourism is affected
In the meantime, the coast guard has deployed oil spill booms to try to contain the material and sprayed chemicals to break up the oil.
Fishermen and tourism operators along the coast are highly dependent on water for their livelihoods.
Oil has been seen along a stretch of water about 60 kilometers between Naujan and the municipality of Bongabong, said Ram Temena, chief of disaster operations in the affected province of Oriental Mindoro.
“We have a lot of fish shelters on the coast,” Temena said.
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“This could have a huge impact because of the possibility of oil sticking to coral reefs, affecting marine biodiversity.”
Bongabong municipal disaster officer Michael Fanoga said fishermen had complained of a “bad smell” about two kilometers off the coast.
“If it spreads along the coastline, our beaches will be destroyed as well as the remaining reefs,” Fanoga said.