Oil spill: US Coast Guard arriving for cleanup

MANILA, Philippines — A contingent of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), along with its air assets, will arrive in the Philippines today to help in the ongoing cleanup of the massive oil spill in Oriental Mindoro, Malacañang said yesterday.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) quoted Department of National Defense (DND) Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. in a statement released on the expected arrival of the USCG contingent.

“We are looking forward to the arrival of the entire US Coast Guard contingent for the additional technical support in our disaster response operations,” the DND officer-in-charge was quoted as saying.
Galvez said one US C-17 with equipment (60K loader) already arrived at Subic Air Base yesterday morning and that a C-5 cargo jet, the US Air Force’s largest strategic airlifter, is expected today.

“We will immediately employ these assets and integrate in our response operations. In addition, we continue to closely monitor the ROV’s (remotely operated vehicle) operations for significant updates and to further determine the extent of the oil spill,” said Galvez, who chairs the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
6:56:01 PMYesterday, an aerial inspection of the areas affected by the oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress was conducted by Galvez with DND Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense; Admiral Artemio Abu, chief of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG); and other officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and concerned local government units.

6:56:01 PMThe defense chief cited the significant contribution of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the ongoing oil spill response operations.

6:56:01 PM“They (NOAA) provide support for scientific modeling to estimate the trajectory of the oil spill and satellite imagery to boost assessment efforts,” he said, noting the inclusion of identifying priority areas at risk of environmental damage and assessing needs for ecosystem restoration.

6:56:01 PMGalvez also reported that the Japanese ROV found out that the oil tanker “suffered extensive structural damage after sinking” in waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro last Feb. 28.6:56:01 PM6:56:01 PM“At this point, no visible consumption fuel leak coming from the damaged vessel. Oil leaks had been observed from all eight compartments (tanks). Some through ballast tanks. Volume of remaining oil inside the compartments cannot be estimated at this point. Oil spillage rate from the source is likewise yet to be determined,” he said. So far, a total of 10,206 liters of oil waste and oily water and 72,643 kilos of oil contaminated debris were collected in the shoreline cleanup operations, he said.

In a separate report, the PCG said a total of 3,377.5 sacks and 22 drums of waste along the shoreline of Oriental Mindoro have been collected from March 1 to 25. It has also gathered a total of 106 sacks of oil-contaminated materials and 8,563 liters of oily water mixture.

6:56:01 PMAfter the inspection, Galvez said the situation in the affected areas – Mimaropa (Mindoro island, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) and Western Visayas – “is a lot better and very encouraging than I imagined.”6:56:01 PM6:56:01 PMMeanwhile, the PCO reported that the government and non-government organizations have extended more than P95 million worth of assistance to the residents in areas affected by the oil spill.

Cleanup operations

Prior to the aerial inspection, personnel from the PCG and Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. resumed cleanup operations in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro at 4 a.m., laying out the oil spill boom and skimmers and manually scooping up the oil. At the same time, tugboats MTug Lidagat and MTug Titan-1 sprayed oil dispersants on the surface of the oil slick.

During the Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique conducted in Pola town last March 23, the PCG took part in the re-surveying which entailed the documentation and verification of shoreline oiling conditions, and the spill’s impact on miles of affected shoreline, cleanup effectiveness, among others.

Based on the their observations during that time, there was no visible oil floating in the water; no oil rubbing off on people or boats; no visible oil on the surface substrate; no subsurface oil layers in pits dug into the shore; no mobile oil on the subsurface; no oiled debris; no pronounced smell/odor of oil; a negative result of the hydrogen sulfide test; no oiled dead animals present inshore; as well passed the water quality standards set forth by Department Administrative Order 2016-08 in compliance with Republic Act 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. Aloysius Angelus John Bandoy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau, French expert Mikael Laurent of Cedré, and representatives from the local government of Pola participated in the operation. PCG Lieutenant Junior Grade Gerald Cordero also discussed the endpoints to measure the condition of environments to the representatives of each barangay in Pola.

In another development, the PCG said that the firm Eco Trends International pledged to donate absorbent pads that could help remove the oil from the water.

The donation of three 40-foot containers of microfiber absorbent pads would be received by Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, who heads the PCG oil spill incident management team in Oriental Mindoro.

CCC backs USAID initiative

Meanwhile, an official of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) has supported an initiative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to train displaced fisherfolk in the oil spill area as citizen scientists.

Climate Change Commissioner Albert dela Cruz Sr. said the US project with the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro and ABS-CBN Foundation could support the displaced fishermen by allowing them to take part in coastal habitat assessments in the province. The USAID last week provided additional P10 million worth of assistance to Oriental Mindoro to support its oil spill management and environmental assessment efforts. Through its partnership with the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc., USAID will also assess and monitor the impact of the oil spill on coastal communities in the Verde Island Passage. Meanwhile, Dela Cruz reiterated his warning against the use of chemical-based dispersants in clearing the areas affected by the oil slick.

Instead of chemical dispersants that produce carbonized tar balls, he proposed the use of skimmers or filtration equipment to remove the oil from the water. “Tar balls are granulated dry oil and these will go to the sea bed and can pollute the marine environment and ecosystem in the areas affected by the oil spill,” Dela Cruz, a biologist and pollution control expert, said.– Evelyn Macairan