Removal of toxic chemicals from Princess of the Stars begins

MANILA, Philippines – Salvage divers began to pull out toxic chemicals yesterday from the MV Princess of the Stars that sank with more than 800 people on board three months ago.

Transportation Undersecretary and Task Force chief Ma. Elena Bautista said divers from the salvage firms Titan Maritime Inc. and Harbor Star began the removal of tons of toxic endosulfan fertilizer and bunker fuel trapped inside the ship.

The removal of the fertilizer and fuel has to be finished before the divers can begin to bring up the bodies of up to 600 people believed trapped in the 24,000 gross ton vessel that capsized during a typhoon off Sibuyan Island in Romblon, Bautista said.

Bautista told a news conference that salvage divers were able to retrieve 22 out of the 400 packs of endosulfan left in the cargo deck of the sunken vessel.

Officials said there are 22 drums of endosulfan inside the ship. Each drum contains 22 packs and every pack weighs about 25 kilos.

Around 60 salvage divers wearing protective gear began extracting the toxic cargo on Monday but only succeeded in retrieving four packs.

“We have 378 packs more to go,” Bautista said.

The retrieved cargo was repacked and sealed in steel drums and transported onto a separate barge.

The endosulfan cargo would be turned over to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) of the Department of Agriculture.

The cargo owners, Del Monte Philippines Inc. said they are considering returning the pesticide to Israel.

The ship owners, Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI), said they would let the court decide as to what should be done with the fertilizer.

Bautista also announced that out of the 832 passengers and crew, 196 have been identified, 120 remained unidentified and 516 are still missing.

On the other hand, Bautista said the salvaging firms have committed to complete the retrieval operations within 12 to 16 days, or nine days ahead of schedule.

But the progress of the retrieval operations would depend on the weather, she said.

Bautista noted the retrieval was hampered anew by the threat of typhoon “Pablo” that made landfall in Eastern Samar yesterday.

Harbor Star chief operating officer Rodrigo Bella said the divers were also experiencing other problems, such as poor visibility caused by the debris from the sunken ship.

“The underwater visibility is very poor. There was also a lot of floating debris such as onions in the area. One of the doors of the container van with the endosulfan was also jammed, while the other is open and we cannot enter the container van. We would only remove what the divers can reach,” Bella said.

To enable the divers to enter the container van, Bella explained they drilled a six-by-eight-foot opening.

The divers, who were trained in handling toxic substances, wore hazmat (hazardous material) suits.

Officials are constantly testing the water at the site to determine possible contamination.

“The plan now is to remove all toxic chemicals as fast and as safely as possible. Simultaneously, procedures are in motion to remove the bunker fuel estimated at 250 tons. We have to ensure the safety of personnel working in the area,” Bautista added.

On the other hand, SLI vice president for marketing Jordan Go said they have already paid the “package” price of $7.55 million for the entire retrieval operation.

“We have four objectives. First we remove the fuel, then the toxic substance, bodies and then the wreck,” Go said.