Containment boom installed as Philippines races to control spreading oil spill

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) installed containment booms to control a spreading oil spill from a sunken tanker.

Footage shows PCG ships laying out the long oil spill boom near the coastal town of Limay in Bataan province on July 30.

The PCG said oil was leaking out of the submerged MT Terra Nova tanker at a rate of less than one litre per hour.

The oil sheens were projected to reach the coasts of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, and Pampanga, but the coast guard said the pollution was 'minimal'.

The PCG said in a statement: 'The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has conducted an aerial survey and observed very minimal and unnoticeable oil sheens in the shoreline of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, and Cavite, today, 30 July 2024.

'According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF), social media reports showcasing videos and pictures of oil sheen or oil spill were unindicative to the actual aerial view.'

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.

Authorities said siphoning operations will proceed on Wednesday, July 31, once the tanker's leaking valves have been sealed.

In February 2023, 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.