The Philippines says a cargo of oil has started to leak from a tanker that sank in Manila Bay

MANILA: The cargo of industrial fuel oil on a tanker that sank in stormy weather in Manila Bay has started to leak in small amounts, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday. Authorities were scrambling to start a delicate undersea operation to siphon off the highly toxic shipment from the sunken vessel, which has remained intact, to avert a major environmental crisis.

The 65-meter (213-foot) tanker Terra Nova sank was carrying about 1.4 million litres (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil stored in watertight tanks when it got lashed by huge waves, apparently developed engine trouble then took on water after leaving Bataan province west of Manila for a domestic trip.
The crew struggled to steer the tanker back to port but it sank early Thursday. Sixteen crewmembers were rescued but one drowned, coast guard spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said.
Divers have reached the tanker, which the coast guard earlier said is lying at a relatively shallow depth of 34 meters (111 feet), and saw small amounts of the cargo leaking out of a valve of one of a number of separate compartments, although the tanks were intact.

An oil slick near the rough seawaters where the tanker sank off Bataan province's Limay town has now lengthened to 12-14 kilometres (7-9 miles), Balilo said, citing an aerial inspection. But, he added, the slick is not highly viscous and not deeply black in color, indicating there is still no major leak.
The leaking oil may have come both from the small tank that powered the ship's engine and from the tanker's cargo, he said.

"It's really an oil spill now," Balilo said. "The amount is minimal and manageable and, hopefully, it will stay that way until we can start the siphoning."
The oil spill was being carried by sea currents toward towns in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, south of Manila, which were advised to prepare to contain any oil that may reach their shores. A town in Bataan province has indefinitely banned fishing in waters that could have been contaminated by the leak, the coast guard said.
The sunken tanker's owner has contracted a private company to siphon the cargo, an operation that could start on Sunday and take a week to