Another sunken motor tanker leaking oil in Bataan – PCG

MANILA, Philippines —  here are now two sunken motor tankers – both with oil leaks that pose a threat to the marine environment – in the waters of Bataan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said that aside from the tanker Terra Nova, which capsized 3.6 nautical miles off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan last July 25, the Coast Guard would simultaneously attend to the MT Jason Bradley, which sank in the waters off Barangay Cabcaben in Mariveles, Bataan.

The PCG is still checking if the two sinking incidents are related.

Balilo said they are still gathering information on what transpired in the sinking of the Jason Bradley. The PCG sent three 44-meter vessels and divers at 5 p.m. on Saturday to the area and confirmed the presence of the second sunken vessel.

“There is another motor tanker (the Jason Bradley) that sank off Mariveles, Bataan. We verified and conducted a diving operation, and was able to confirm that a tanker sank,” Balilo said.

He added that they have dispatched a Coast Guard ship to place oil spill booms at the site because there is already an oil sheen present.

The PCG said the Jason Bradley might not have departed from Bataan since it was not cleared by their Coast Guard station in the area. It was possible that it might have taken shelter in the area before it sank.

Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encinas, who assumed the post as the Bataan Station commander only last Saturday, previously said that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley. However, Balilo has since clarified that the ship was carrying an unknown quantity of diesel cargo.

The confusion started when an unnamed shipping company reportedly told the Coast Guard earlier that there was no cargo onboard the Jason Bradley when the tanker sank nine meters deep in the muddy bottom, some 550 meters away from the shoreline.

The PCG has begun preparing the needed equipment for the salvaging operations. Encinas said this might take two weeks to complete.

As for the Terra Nova, that is carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO), Balilo said, “We were supposed to begin with the siphoning of the IFOs from the sunken MT