ILOILO City – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Western Visayas closely monitors the possibility of an oil spill after the MT Princess Empress – carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil – capsized near Tablas Island, Romblon early yesterday morning.
PCG-Western Visayas spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Jansen Benjamin told Panay News they are keeping an eye on the incident area so that the PCG could take immediate measures in case there is an oil spill that could reach the region’s waters.
Benjamin, however, clarified there had been no reported oil spills as of this writing.
He said Romblon is far from the region, which is more or less 149 miles away from the region’s nearest area of responsibility – Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique.
Despite this, Benjamin said they are ready with the contingency plan.
He further said Western Visayas is not new to oil spills, and the coast guard is experienced in implementing measures.
“In case magkaroon ng incident like that, siempre ang aton nga himuon is to protect sensitive areas,” said Benjamin.
The PCG-Western Visayas further said the PCG central office had already deployed floating assets and responders to rescue the oil tanker’s 20 crew members, including the captain.
The BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) and one airbus helicopter were already deployed to respond to the incident and assess the vicinity waters for possible oil spill traces.
MT Princess Empress departed from Bataan en route to Iloilo with its 20 crew members.
“Initial investigation revealed that the distressed motor tanker encountered engine trouble due to overheating. It then drifted towards the vicinity waters off Balingawan Point due to rough sea conditions until it became half-submerged,” the PCG said in a statement./PN
