Ghost of Princess Empress haunts Mindoro
Find out what happened in the recent oil spill.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. personally conducts an aerial inspection today, April 15, on places affected by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro. Image and caption by the Presidential Communications Office.
Roughly 800,000 liters of oil is spilled into the ocean, following the sinking of MT Princess Empress at Tablas Strait near Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, last February 28.
The 20-crewed oil tanker by RDC Reield Marine Services was en route to Iloilo from SL Gas Harbor Terminal in Linay, Bataan to transport 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, which according to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was highly toxic to the environment.
Sinking of MT Princess Empress
According to official onboard reports from the tanker, they experienced rough sea conditions around 2 am PST while traversing waters north of the strait and the ship was half-submerged at exactly 4:16 am.
The crew, who were rescued by the Panamanian-flagged MV Efes four minutes later, arrived safely and unscathed in Subic, Zambales at 6 pm, as the ship drifted towards Balingawan Point before sinking completely at 8 am.
The Black Spill
The Philippine Coast Guard quickly dispatched the BRP Melchora Aquino and an Airbus helicopter to conduct an investigation on the incident, where a five kilometer long and 800 meter-wide oil spill was discovered.
Actions to quickly address the effects of the incident were quickly petitioned by several local government units and non-government organizations as emphasized by DENR that at least 21 marine protected areas could be affected by the oil spill.
The incident took a huge toll on Mindoro and nearby provinces as they are reliant on fishing and other marine activities for their livelihoods, with over 40,000 families affected from the data of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.
Aggravated upon by intense wind and waves, the oil spill has reached Verde Islands Passage, Pola, Naujan, Calapan and Pinamalayan according to the University of the Philippines - Diliman College of Science Marine Science Institute Bulletin #09 on March 3.
That month also, DENR and NDRRMC pegged ₱7B losses in the agricultural sector and ₱3.8B in fisheries, followed by an estimate of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources that the fishing industry losses up to ₱19M daily as the Mindoro Oil Spill drags on.
Measures to aid the said oil spill was done by multiple agencies such as UPD-CS MSI, DENR, PCG, UP Visayas, and Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology, spearheaded by the institutions’ marine experts.
To help with the cleaning efforts, RDC Reield Marine Services hired Harbor Star Shipping Services and Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation whose efforts were intensified further by Shin Nichi Maru and Hakuyo, a dynamic positioning vessel and underwater robot from Japan Disaster Response Team, and US anchor handling vessel Pacific Valkyrie.
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