The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rang its alarm bells when it discovered thick oil at the ground zero where tanker MTKR Terranova sank off Bataan nearly a month ago.
It has been 26 days since MTKR Terranova submerged on July 25 due to bad weather and the situation appeared to be generally under control. That was until around 7:30 p.m. of Aug. 19 when divers monitored the presence of thick oil off the coast of Limay town where MTKR Terranova sank.
“The presence of thick oil in the vicinity waters does not necessarily mean that there was a punctured cargo oil tank (COT). There are still small leaks from the pipes that’s why we continue to install several layers of oil spill booms in the area and use dispersants,” the PCG information office said on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Earlier, the Coast Guard Station Bataan said that the installation of metal caps to reinforce the canvass-type caps used to seal the 24 pipes of MTKR Terranova had been completed so seepage of oil has been reduced to less than one liter per hour from 7.5 liters per minute.
The PCG deployed BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) to conduct oil sampling, sea surface surveillance and monitoring at the ground zero to prevent the spread of the newly-discovered thick oil.
Read: Pump from Singapore arriving to boost siphoning operations for ‘Terranova’
Meanwhile, the full-blown siphoning operation for the remainder of the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) or black oil that MTKR Terranova was carrying has still not yet started.
Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., the contracted salvor, began the hot tapping operation on the last of the eight tanks as part of the initial siphoning procedures, the PCG said.
Hot tapping refers to the installation of pipe on the surface of the COTs to pave the way for the entry of water. Through water flooding, the oil inside the tank will rise and be siphoned.
At present, the PCG said that approximately 2,500 liters of oil were collected during initial siphoning operation on Monday, bringing the total to 10,707 liters of collected oil.
"Harbor Star also utilized an extra oil booster pump to enhance the siphoning pump’s efficiency," the PCG said.