MANILA, Philippines – Harbor Star, the company contracted to salvage the sunken MT Terranova, began removing oil from affected bodies of water during their initial siphoning operations on Tuesday, August 13, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
As part of initial siphoning operations, the salvor began hot tapping one of the eight tanks inside the ship. Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina explained that hot tapping meant putting a pipe on the surface of the tank where water could go through.
“Through water flooding, the oil will surface. And then the oil on the surface will be siphoned,” Encina explained in a mix of Filipino and English.
This method, Encina said, would reduce risk of any unnecessary movement while the salvor removes contaminants.
Through the initial oil siphoning, the salvor can assess the flow rate of the oil that will help them determine the timeline for when they may start full-blown siphoning operations.
All 24 valves have been sealed, half of which had canvas seals installed, while the other half had fabricated metal caps. The PCG earlier estimated that it would take two weeks for the metal caps to be fabricated and installed.
Initially, the Coast Guard said the plan was to siphon out around 300,000 liters of industrial fuel oil to float MT Terranova. But now, all contaminants will be removed from the tanker before it gets towed to the shoreline.
“The intention is to extract all the contaminants before the conduct of salvage operation,” said Encina. “That means all IFO (industrial fuel oil) will be extracted to ensure that there will be no contaminants on board.”
MT Terranova, owned by Shogun Ships Company Incorporated, capsized and submerged at 1:10 am on July 25 off Limay, Bataan. It was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil, chartered by San Miguel Shipping subsidiary SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corporation.
Ongoing investigation
As the salvor slowly starts the process of siphoning out oil from the tanker, the government continues to investigate circumstances surrounding the Bataan oil spill and the other troubled vessels.
The Department of Justice is looking at a possible oil smuggling case where MT Terranova, along with other troubled vessels MT Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1, are involved. (READ: Was MT Terranova, other troubled ships in Bataan involved in oil smuggling?)
“The Jason Bradley, in fact, has a seizure order from [the Bureau of] Customs because it was involved in a pending case due to oil smuggling,” DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez told reporters on Tuesday in Filipino.
“That’s according to the investigation of the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] when they were verifying records.”
The justice undersecretary pointed out that Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1, which ran aground in Mariveles, sailed without clearance from the PCG. MV Mirola 1 is also an unregistered vessel, said Vasquez.
MT Jason Bradley sank on July 27 off Mariveles.
In a statement dated July 27, chief engineer Juanito Canillo said they encountered strong winds and heavy swells during their prolonged stay at anchorage. Canillo said their situation “deteriorated significantly” as they neared shallow waters.
“During the lifting of the anchor and maneuvering, we were struck by three successive waves, causing the vessel to capsize,” Canillo’s statement read.
“At approximately 1230 or 1240 hours, we were forced to abandon the vessel as it was sinking.”
The PCG reported on Monday, August 12, that MT Jason Bradley is now partially afloat as seawater is being siphoned out of the tanker.
The said vessel may be expected to fully float within two weeks, Encina said. – Rappler.com