Experts from the US have arrived in the Philippines at the request of the government to help in the clean up of the oil spill that has spread across different provinces from Oriental Mindoro.

Among them are the five members of the US Coast Guard (USCG) National Strike, who will provide subject matter expertise and assess the affected areas, the US Embassy in Manila said Tuesday.

They will determine the most effective method and equipment to contain and clean up the oil spill from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress, it added.

Meanwhile, two members of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will work closely with the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in conducting rapid environmental assessments of affected areas.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), they will also identify priority areas at risk of environmental damage, and assess needs for ecosystem restoration.

"NOAA has already provided the PCG with satellite imagery to boost assessment efforts. It also provided the University of the Philippines-Marine Sciences Institute with support for scientific modeling to estimate the trajectory of the spill," the embassy said.

A US Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving will complete the eight-man team. According to the embassy, he will evaluate the technical parameters required to support the possible deployment of a remotely operated vehicle.

On Tuesday, the eight experts arrived in Pola, Oriental Mindoro. Prior to their deployment, they already received a briefing on in Manila from the PCG and the Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team about oil-spill mitigation actions taken so far.

"When vessels are in deep water, as in this case, cleaning up the remaining oil becomes a complicated issue," Commander Stacey Crecy, commanding officer of the USCG Pacific Strike Team, expressed concern.

But she gave assurance that "through our incident management professionals' wealth of experience and strongexpertise in oil spill response, we will assist the PCG in developing safe and efficient methods to contain and recover the oil and minimize damage to the environment."

"The USCG remains deeply committed to our relationship with the PCG," she added.