Western Philippines Faces Oil Slick
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Bacolod City, Philippines (AHN) - An oil tanker of Petron Corp., carrying some 538,344 gallons of bunker fuel sank off the coasts of Nueva Valencia in western Philippines which could trigger an oil slick. The Office of the Civil Defense in Western Visayas said the huge volume of bunker fuel could destroy marine life off the coasts of Guimaras, Iloilo City and Negros Occidental and said a massive clean up operations must be readied immediately. Philippine Coast Guard Captain Luis Tuason said two crew members of the ill-fated tanker M/T Solar I, were still missing. He said that at about 4:10 p.m. Friday, the M/T Solar I which is owned by Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., with office in Manila, Philippines, sank 30 nautical miles south southwest of Iloilo City. The ship was chartered by Petron to transport its bunker fuel. Records show the vessel left Bataan port in the province of Zambales and was on its way to Zamboanga City when it was hit by strong waves and sank. PCG officials identifies the missing crewmen as Victor Morados of Dumaguete City and Art Ian Nabua of Bataan. The Coast Guard's Oil Spill Combat Teams have already been dispatched in the area to assist Petron in the clean up operations. Tuason said, "We have sent teams to assess the damage and start the clean up operation early tomorrow morning to minimize the effects of spilt oil." |
