Philippine Coast Guard and police deploy booms as oil spill nears coast

The Philippine Coast Guard and maritime police deployed oil spill booms today as an oil spill drifted toward the Philippine coast.

Footage shows the officers sailing off the town of Ternate in Cavite province to lay out a 50-yard improvised spill boom on July 30.

Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary Captain Gerald Galza, Deputy Chief of Staff for Maritime Search and Rescue in the National Capital Region - Central Luzon, said: 'We are here in Caylabne because it is the core zone of the marine sanctuary, Ternate Marine Park. This is where soft and hard corals are located.

'Because we received news that the oil slick was spreading, we were ordered to deploy the improvised oil spill boom to protect the corals in Caylabne Beach.'

The MT Terra Nova sank off Bataan province typhoon Gaemi lashed the Philippines early morning on July 25. One crewman aboard died, while 16 others were rescued.

The Philippine Coast Guard is bracing to contain a major oil spill, as the vessel was reported to have been carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel.

Scientists from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute said the leaking oil was projected to reach the provinces of Cavite and Bulacan near the Manila Bay.

Siphoning operations were expected to start today, July 30, and authorities said they hoped to finish in two weeks.

Last February, the MT Princess Empress tanker carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel sank and caused a disastrous oil spill in the Philippines' Oriental Mindoro province.

The spill took three months to contain, destroying swathes of coral reefs and disrupting the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen across at least six provinces.