Nearing the two-week deadline imposed to collect the remainder of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) onboard sunken tanker MTKR Terranova, the process hit a snag after authorities decided to stop the siphoning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) bared on Saturday, Aug. 31.
The reason for the temporary stoppage is because the storage onboard motor tanker Helena Marie where the collected oily waste is being transferred is already full.
The PCG said that the decision was made by the contracted salvor, Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc., on Aug. 30.
“The contracted salvor, Harbor Star, temporarily stopped the siphoning operation to prioritize the unloading the recovered oily waste,” it said.
The PCG said that the siphoned oily waste – a mixture of IFO and seawater – were being transferred to container ship RMS Lori Tanker at the Orion Dockyard in Orion, Bataan.
As of Aug. 29, a total of 903,265.58 liters of oily waste have already been collected since the initial siphoning started on Aug. 19. The full-blown siphoning operation followed two days later after the arrival of booster pumps from Singapore.
Citing commitment from officials of Harbor Star, Lt. Cdr. Michael John Encinas, commander of Coast Guard Station Bataan, earlier said that the siphoning process will be finished in two weeks since the full-blown siphoning began on Aug. 21.
Following the schedule, that means the process should have been finished by Sept. 3.
The temporary stoppage adds concerns that the schedule will be met by the authorities.
The PCG said it will give an update on the status of the two-week schedule in the coming days.
MTKR Terranova sank off Limay, Bataan on July 25 amid rough weather condition.