Oil spill hits Cebu’s Naga town
MTUG SUGBO 7 arrived at the vicinity waters and rendered assistance, but the rate of water going in was much greater than the water they were able to pump out
Daily TribuneMTUG SUGBO 7 arrived at the vicinity waters and rendered assistance, but the rate of water going in was much greater than the water they were able to pump out
A tugboat in an anchorage in the municipality of Naga, Cebu reportedly submerged on Sunday and caused a manageable oil spill incident in the vicinity waters of the said anchorage, according to the report of the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday.
The PCG said that its team in Naga deployed three segments of the oil spill boom, two bales of absorbent pads, and four segments of absorbent boom to control the oil spill.
Based on the account of the skipper of MT SUGBO 2, the vessel encountered hull damage on the steering portion inside the engine room.
Investigation disclosed that the vessel's master noticed the steering room was flooded due to an approximately four-inch diameter hole at the vessel's starboard quarter and instructed his crew to provide a submersible pump to remove the seawater inside the steering room, but the tugboat lost its power.
He contacted its sister ship, MTUG SUGBO 5, to connect its power source to the submersible pump, but he terminated the pumping operation due to the increase in the volume of water in the steering room.
Subsequently, MTUG SUGBO 7 arrived at the vicinity waters and rendered assistance, but the rate of water going in was much greater than the water they were able to pump out.
Due to the unfavorable sea conditions, the master instructed all crew on board to abandon the ship for safety before it eventually submerged.
Meanwhile, PCG operatives have prevented another oil spill in Occidental Mindoro after MV JOEGIE 5 owned by Preeminent Shipping and Management Corporation, ran aground after it drifted to the shallow waters while transiting the waters off Sitio Kalanginan, Barangay Harrison, Paluan last 1 September.
According to a PCG report, their personnel are monitoring the safe fuel extraction operations of a cargo vessel that ran aground near Calaviti Point in Paluan.
Vessel captain Arnie Alberto narrated that they were en route to Sablayan, Oriental Mindoro, from Bauan, Batangas, when it encountered heavy winds and high waves, causing it to drift and run aground.
