The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) formally declared on Friday, Sept. 13, the conclusion of the siphoning operation for sunken tanker MTKR Terranova with authorities registering an oil recovery rate of 97.43 percent, and more importantly, the national government averting what could be the biggest environmental catastrophe in the history of the country’s maritime industry.
A final inspection at the ground zero in Limay, Bataan was spearheaded by Vice Admiral Roy Echeverria, commander of PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Command (MEPCOM), on Thursday to ensure that the eight cargo oil tanks onboard MTKR Terranova no longer contains oil.
It was also attended by Bataan Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III; Major General Armando Corpuz (Ret.) from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD); National Operation Center for Oil Pollution (NOCOP) Director, Commodore Glenda Pereyra; Coast Guard Station (CGS) Bataan Commander, Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina; Mr. Arvin Catipon from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO); and other local government unit (LGU) representatives.
According to the contracted salvor, Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., it collected 1,415,954 liters of oil and an additional 17,725 kilograms of solid oily waste as part of the variance volume which represents a 97.43-percent recovery rate.
Meanwhile, the remaining 37,867 liters of oily waste which account for 2.57 percent of the total oil cargo “were lost due to various factors such as biodegradation, dissipation, absorption by sorbent booms, and unpumpable sludge left in the tanks,” the Harbor Star added.
Encina, who also heads the Incident Command Post, said the collaboration of different government agencies, LGUs, and civilian stakeholders was the key behind the successful siphoning operation.
The success of the operation, although marked by challenges including the passing of Severe Tropical Storm “Enteng” and the malfunctioning of several oil pumps which resulted in a delay from the original completion target of Sept. 3, avoided a repeat of the 2006 Guimaras oil spill involving two million liters of bunker fuel and the 2023 Oriental Mindoro oil spill involving 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil.
“Malaking bagay ang pagtutulungan ng mga agency. Nakita niyo nandito ang LGUs, nandito si OCD [Office of Civil Defense], of course full force ang PCG, at nandyan ang Marine Environmental Protection, ang NOCOP [National Operations Center for Oil Pollution], ang national pollution unit ng PCG (The cooperation of different agencies was a big help. You’ve seen that the LGUs are present, the OCD is here, of course the PCG is full force on this, the Marine Environmental Protection, and NOCOP, the national pollution unit of the PCG, are here,” he said.
According to the Incident Command Post, Harbor Star also conducted the final stripping operation to ensure that the cargo oil tanks are all empty.
“The said procedure is essential to confirm the removal of residual oil and to prevent leakage or oil contamination for the upcoming salvage operation,” the Incident Command Post emphasized.
What’s next?
Following the completion of the siphoning operation, the PCG and Harbor Star will work on removing the wreck of MTKR Terranova from the water.
“Magkakaroon ng coordinating meeting together with representatives from the insurers company para mapagusapan yung wreck removal (A coordinating meeting together with representatives from the insurers company will be conducted to discuss the wreck removal,” Encina said.
The PCG will also shift its focus on the investigation on the alleged involvement in the “paihi system” of MTKR Terranova and two other vessels which sank and ran aground in Bataan days apart, MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1.
“It should be a whole-of-government approach. We coordinated with the Bureau of Customs and the National Bureau of Investigation to find out what really is happening here in Bataan. We all know for a fact that this is the Dubai capital of the Philippines but we don’t discount such information [occurrence of paihi system] so we have to validate and ascertain such report,” Encina said.
The shipping company of MTKR Terranova earlier denied allegations linking them into oil smuggling, saying it “remains committed to upholding the highest standards of service and compliance in the Philippine oil transport sector.”