LIMAY, Philippines: The Philippine Coast Guard planned on Friday (Jul 26) to deploy oil dispersant and floating barriers a day after a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel sank off Manila.
AFP journalists at the Port of Limay in Bataan province watched coast guard personnel preparing equipment for a boat to be used against the slick in Manila Bay.
The MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly 7km off Limay municipality early on Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.
An oil slick stretching several kilometres has been detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.
But coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told a briefing on Thursday that it appeared diesel fuel used to power the tanker had leaked and, so far, not the industrial fuel oil cargo.
The coast guard has set a target of seven days to offload the cargo and prevent what Balilo warned would be the worst oil spill in Philippine history.
The incident happened as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
