Oil Siphoning in Full Swing
On Monday, a significant milestone was reached as the last remaining oil from the sunken tanker Princess Empress began to be siphoned off the coast of Oriental Mindoro in the Philippines. Dive support vessel Fire Opal arrived at Calapan, chartered by Malayan Towage and Salvage, under contract to Princess Empress’ P&I club. Once formalities were addressed, the ship proceeded to the wreck site to initiate the pumping process for the residual oil from the sunken motor tanker.
Operation Duration and Impact
Incident commander Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla of the Philippine Coast Guard projected that the operation would take between 20 and 30 days to complete, depending on weather conditions and progress at the wreck. It is estimated that 100,000 liters of fuel oil remain on board the vessel.
“Once the oil removal is completed, we hope that the process will pave the way for the rehabilitation of affected areas and finally transition to normalcy for affected Mindoreños,” remarked Tuvilla.
Devastating Circumstances of the Sinking
The Princess Empress catastrophically sank off Oriental Mindoro on February 28, carrying approximately 800,000 liters of fuel oil. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, at least three of her five cargo tanks are believed to have leaked into the sea. The consequent pollution caused severe hardship for the coastal villages of the province, which rely predominantly on fishing and tourism for their livelihoods.
Legal Disputes and Questions of Authenticity
In a twist, the Philippines’ Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) upheld that the Princess Empress did not possess a valid operating permit for domestic trading during the accident. This revelation casts doubt over the legitimacy of the paperwork crew members presented to the Philippine Coast Guard before departure. Additionally, the Philippine justice department contends that the product tanker was not a new build, as operator RDC Reield Marine Services claimed, but instead a refurbished “scrap ship” that had been purchased and converted. The vessel’s owners continued to assert that it was indeed a new build.
