Twenty-seven days since its sinking off Limay, Bataan, the full-blown siphoning operation to remove the remainder of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) from tanker MTKR Terranova finally began on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
Officials from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and MTKR Terranova’s contracted salvor, Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., are holding their breath as they try to avoid any miscalculation, for one wrong move could potentially cause the biggest oil spill in the country’s history.
Lt. Cdr. Michael John Encina, commander of Coast Guard Station Bataan, said that the target is to drain 200,000 liters of oil per day from the eight cargo oil tanks (COTs) onboard MTKR Terranova, which sank on July 25.
“Nagstart na tayo today, that is the intention. Still, mino-monitor natin ‘yung rate of oil. May divers po tayo underwater during the conduct of such operation. We are expecting na ‘yung target na 200,000 per day is ma-reach natin (We already started [the siphoning] today, that is the intention. We are still monitoring the rate of oil [extraction]. We have underwater divers during the conduct of such operation. We are expecting to reach the target of 200,000 liters per day),” Encina told reporters in an online press briefing.
The full-blast siphoning began following the arrival of two key equipment from Singapore last Saturday: one is called the Current Booster 4 (CB4), a pump which can collect leaked oil from the surface water, and the other one is a booster pump which can increase the rate of oil extraction during the siphoning procedure.
The arrival of the said equipment enhanced the oil extraction rate by the Harbor Star: from the previous 200 liters per hour to 9,000 liters per hour. Two more booster pumps will be arriving in the coming days to hasten the procedure.
With this development, Encina said that the siphoning procedure will likely last for two weeks as the salvor does not only collect the remainder of the 1.4 million liters of IFO but the mixture of seawater as well.
He explained that during the siphoning, divers will inject seawater to the cargo oil tanks, and this will cause the thick oil to float so they can be drained. This procedure, called hot tapping, also helps in maintaining the integrity of the tanks as it prevents the vessel from floating after the extraction of oil.
“There will be mixture of water and IFO during the course of the procedure and that is unavoidable,” Encina said.
“We want to maintain the integrity of the cargo oil tanks kasi kapag kinuha lang natin ang IFO at iniwan na may hangin sa loob, it will be void at magkakaroon ng buoyancy ‘yung tanker. Iniiwasan natin ang unnecessary movement ng barko (We want to maintain the integrity of the cargo oil tanks because if we just remove the IFO and leave it with air inside, there will be void and the tanker will be buoyant. We are avoiding any unnecessary movement of the tanker),” Encina noted.
So far, around 47,000 liters of oil mixed with seawater have already been collected from MTKR Terranova during the conduct of initial siphoning procedure. An additional 10,000 liters of leaked fuel from the early days of the sinking up to present were also retrieved by the PCG and Harbor Star.
Once all the cargo oil is extracted, the Harbor Star will then work on the salvage operation to remove the vessel from the water.
“This is a work in progress because the salvage operation will be based upon the success rate of the siphoning,” Encina said.
‘Just a small leak’
Meanwhile, Encina clarified that the “thick oil” observed by the PCG at the ground zero on Monday night was just oil sheen, which is a thin layer rainbow-colored oil that could evaporate under the heat of the sun, from a “small leak”.
Read: Thick oil emerges from MTKR Terranova ground zero
“There are no punctured tanks. These came from a regular small leak that we are seeing from the junctions or fittings of Terranova, not from its valves. This is caused by too much pressure underwater, it sank to almost 100 feet and this is the situation that we encounter,” he added.
Encina said the PCG and the salvor have conducted mitigating measures to prevent the oil sheen from spreading to other coastal areas of Bataan.
Jason Bradley, Mirola 1
The PCG was also working non-stop to salvage another sunken tanker, MTKR Jason Bradley, and a beached motor vessel, MV Mirola 1, off Mariveles, Bataan.
For MTKR Jason Bradley, Encina said the intention is to make the engine room and the steering room water tight to make it fully afloat because that is where the pilot area is. As of writing, the tanker remains partially afloat.
MTKR Jason Bradley sank on July 27 while loaded with 5,500 liters of diesel fuel.
“We will make it water tight and then we will siphon the seawater inside. The compartment will be the primary cause for buoyancy for Jason Bradley. We expect within this week that its buoyancy will be increased so we can tow it to the nearest shore at the very soonest, and start the siphoning of 5,500 liters of diesel fuel,” Encina added.
As for MV Mirola 1, the owner of the motor vessel finally communicated with the PCG after initially refusing to cooperate. MV Mirola 1 ran aground off Mariveles, and the report of the incident reached the PCG on July 23.
“We are now in contact with Ms. Mary Jane Ubaldo. In fact, she was there during a recent Congressional hearing so it is a positive development to fasttrack the investigation that we are doing with other agencies,” Encina said.
Morning Star, the contracted salvor for MV Mirola 1, secured the area where it ran aground in preparation for the removal of the seawater from the hull area of the vessel.