Three weeks since it capsized off Oriental Mindoro, motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress was finally located by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hakuyo, the underwater robot brought in by Japanese dynamic positioning vessel (DPS) Shin Nichi Maru, on Tuesday, March 21, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. PCG communications officer Diane Gumatay said MT Princess Empress was located exactly at 7.7 nautical miles away from Balingawan Point in Naujan town where it sank last Feb. 28 while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil.  “Natagpuan na ng remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hakuyo ang lumubog na MT Princess Empress sa katubigan ng Oriental Mindoro (Remotely operated vehicle Hakuyo has already located the ill-fated MT Princess Empress off Oriental Mindoro),” the PCG said in a statement. According to PCG, DPV Shin Nichi Maru went to the ground zero in Naujan on Tuesday after completing the boarding formalities upon its arrival last Monday. “Dito inilunsad ang ROV Hakuyo na kayang sumisid hanggang 2,000 metro (That was when ROV Hakuyo was launched, which can dive up to 2,000 meters),” the PCG said. As this developed, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) revealed Wednesday, March 22, that two barangays in Batangas City – Brgy. San Agustin and Brgy. San Agapito – have already been reached by the oil spill caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress. Aside from the two barangays in Batangas City, the oil spill has also affected 66 barangays in Oriental Mindoro, six in Palawan, and three in Antique, according to the NDRRMC.

Why this matter

Locating the vessel was a challenge for the PCG responders since the oil spill that resulted from the incident could pose various health hazards to the divers, and the rough sea condition also prevent them from accessing the ground zero during the early days of the operation. But now that the sunken oil tanker has been located, authorities have a clearer picture of the condition of the vessel as well as the location of the leaking cargo fuel so they could seal and siphon it. “We will respond correspondingly once we have discussed the result of the assessment done by the ROV. It is important now that we are seeing what’s happening underwater,” Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor was quoted as saying by the PCG. Meanwhile, cleanup operations continue for the third straight week to prevent the spill from further spreading. From March 1 to 21, the PCG and NDRRMC said that responders have collected a total of 6,803 liters of oily water mixture (offshore operations); 1,898 sacks of oil contaminated debris; 164 drums of waste during shoreline clean-up activities.

Assistance

To address the concerns of the affected residents whose livelihood were affected due to the oil spill, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) tasked member-agencies to extend immediate relief assistance to the locals.   The NDRRMC said a total of P28.3 million worth of humanitarian assistance from the national government, local government units, non-government organizations, and other partners have been given to the affected families. The oil spill has so far affected 163,508 individuals or 34,555 families in Mimaropa (Region 4B) and Western Visayas (Region 6) as of March 22.