SAN JOSE, Antique – The cargo ship that ran aground off the coast of Barangay 4 has no leakage, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
M/V Star Liberty has been stuck some 300 meters from the shoreline of San Jose since Monday after strong wind and waves due to the southwest monsoon brought it there.
PCG-Antique station commander Perlita Cinco said they have not seen fuel floating on seawaters as of Tuesday.
“As of now, the leakage is not a major concern because the ship is a double hull and used diesel fuel which could easily evaporate,” Cinco stressed.
The 383-gross ton ship arrived in San Jose on Aug. 28 to deliver 20,000 bags of cement.
The cargo chip has 6,000 liters of diesel fuel when it left Cebu last week, Cinco said.
“So far we don’t need to lay out oil spill booms because there is yet no leakage,” she added.
The PCG has already coordinated with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for the booms in case of an oil spill.
Cinco said they are waiting for the representatives from ship owner J. Diamond R. Shipping, Inc. to arrive in San Jose for the initial assessment of the vessel.
“The underwater survey is needed to find out the extent of damage on the ship especially now that it has been moved further onto the rocky portion of the sea,” she stressed.
Twelve out of 22 of M/V Star Liberty’s crew members were hurt during Monday’s incident.
The bruised crew members were brought to the hospital for treatment. The other crew members were housed in the barangay hall. (With a report from PNA/PN)
