Coast Guard to revise sea lanes to protect Tubbataha

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will propose alternate sea lanes to prevent vessels from passing near Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and spare it from possible marine pollution. 

Ships might soon be barred from passing near the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP), which has been declared by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA).

PCG officer-in-charge Commodore Joel Garcia told The STAR recently that the agency is planning to recommend alternate sea lanes to the IMO so vessels would no longer transit near the reef. 

Tubbataha in the Sulu Sea and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia are the only two declared PSSA in Asia. They are recognized as “sensitive to the ecological balance, to global marine diversity, and the Philippines is endowed with this gift,” Garcia said.  

He said the Philippines has “the obligation to protect this marine area from possible oil spill, sewage and garbage from ships.”

The Coast Guard intends to draw up geographical coordinates that will cordon off the reef from ships and instead provide alternate sea lanes on the reef’s periphery.  

“We have to look at the nautical chart. Then that is the time we can probably determine the exact mathematical and geographical location of the sea lane that we have to formulate,” Garcia said.

They would then submit their proposal to the IMO, so the new routes would be recognized and observed by other member states. 

The TNRP is reportedly not part of the usual trade route of domestic ships. The vessels using this area are usually those sailing to and from Malaysia and Singapore. 

Those classified as IMO-PSSA are areas that need special protection because of their ecological or socio-economic significance and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities.  

Aside from being a protected area, Tubbataha is also among the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Sites. 

The almost 100,000 hectares of high quality marine habitats contain three atolls and deep sea, serving as home to a great diversity of marine life including whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and Napoleon wrasse.

The reef ecosystem supports over 350 species of corals and almost 500 species of fish. The reserve also protects one of the few remaining colonies of breeding seabirds in the region.