Siphoned oil from sunken tanker way short of daily target

AUTHORITIES were able to siphon off some 42,000 liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) from the sunken tanker Terranova last Wednesday, the first day of the “full blast” siphoning operation.

But the recovered oil was way short of the 200,000 liters of oil that the salvor, Harbor Star, was targeting to siphon per day from the eight storage tanks of the ill-fated vessel.

“The contracted salvor, Harbor Star, installed another booster pump to improve siphoning efficiency – recording over 42,000 liters of collected oil during yesterday’s operation,” the PCG said in a statement.

In an online press briefing, Coast Guard Bataan commander Lt. Cmdr. Michael John Encina said other “variables” contributed to the failure to reach the 200,000 liters per day target.

“We are still waiting for the arrival of additional booster pumps. That’s the reason why (they didn’t meet the target),” said Encina.

Encina said the PCG is hoping the salvor would be able to install more booster pumps over the weekend to hasten the recovery of the oil.

The other variables that contributed were the underwater pressure and the introduction of seawater into the storage tanks as part of the siphoning procedure.

“Those are the variables why the 200,000 liters per day target was not reached,” said Encina.

“But just the same, it’s still good news the mere fact that there is no oil sheen and we continue to extract IFO from motor tanker Terranova,” added Encina.

The salvor started the initial siphoning last August 19 though the full blast operation only commenced last Wednesday.

Overall, Encina said the salvor has already collected a total of 81,000 liters of oil waster since August 19.

BFAR REPORT

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the results of its latest analysis on fish caught from Naic, Ternate, Kawit and Maragondon in Cavite are now deemed safe for human consumption.

In its latest bulletin released yesterday, the agency said fish caught from the four areas in Cavite have passed the sensory evaluation for three consecutive batches of fish and other fishery species collected from August 7 to 21.

But the agency said fish produce from Bacoor City, Cavite City, Noveleta, Rosario and