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  PlanetArk 25 Aug 06
Japanese ship for Philippine spill cleanup delayed
By Leo Solinap

Yahoo News 25 Aug 06
Philippine oil slick threatens rich fishing grounds
by Joel Nito

NUEVA VALENCIA, Philippines (AFP) - The slick from the Philippines' worst oil disaster is spreading rapidly and is now threatening some of the country's richest fishing grounds, officials have warned.

Two weeks after the Solar I tanker sank in heavy seas off the central island of Guimaras, currents are pushing oil towards the islands of Negros and Panay, threatening fish stocks in the bountiful Visayan Sea.

Residents on the northeast coast of Panay, which is around 140 kilometres (90 miles) from where the tanker went down, have reported seeing traces of oil, the civil defence office said Friday.

Oil was also spotted off the west coast of Negros causing at least one town to declare a "state of calamity".

"This is a national calamity that demands the cooperation and solidarity of all Filipinos," President Gloria Arroyo said in a state television broadcast, in which she appealed to Filipinos to contribute "human hair and chicken feathers" to filter out the sludge from threatened beaches. She said drop-off points would be set up across the country for transport to the affected areas.

Since the tanker sank on August 11, 50,000 gallons of oil has leaked into the sea causing black sludge to be washed up on more than 300 kilometres (180 miles) of coastline on Guimaras.

It has wrecked the island's tourism industry and threatened the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen.

However the authorities are involved in a race against time to prevent the remaining 450,000 gallons of oil on the tanker leaking into the sea.

Surveyors from the United States and Japanese coastguards were on the scene to assess the damage and recommend how best to recover the remaining fuel before the tanks burst, the Filipino coastguard said.

A salvage vessel with a remote-controlled mini-submarine from Japan is expected to arrive in the area on Sunday. Based on the salvage vessel's findings, the charterer, Petron Corp., will decide whether to try to raise the tanker, or siphon off the oil.

Because of a lack of locally available equipment and technology to reach the wreck, believed to be in depths of up to 3,000 feet (900 meters), the focus of the Philippine government's efforts has been damage mitigation.

Coastguard vessels as well as boats provided by Petron are battling the slick with oil spill booms and chemical dispersants. The aim is to contain the oil, dragged by the northeast current through the strait, before it reaches the open waters of the Visayan Sea, the civil defense office said.

More than 1,000 hectares (more than 2,000 acres) of mangroves and 200 more kilometers of coasts are threatened in Panay and Negros, it added.

The health department has over 60 doctors and nurses in the area treating over 300 people suffering from respiratory problems, skin irritations, coughing and asthma from the oil.

Already one man has died and four people have been hospitalised. "I am deeply concerned over the mounting health hazards in the communities affected by the oil slick," Arroyo said. "Mobile hospitals would be set up and evacuation procedures will be undertaken as necessary to ease suffering and save lives."

She also urged Petron and the ship's owners to "immediately clean up the mess".

PlanetArk 25 Aug 06
Japanese ship for Philippine spill cleanup delayed
By Leo Solinap

JORDAN, Philippines (Reuters) - A Japanese salvage ship hired to help clean up the Philippines' worst oil spill has developed mechanical problems, delaying its scheduled Saturday arrival by at least three days, officials said on Friday.

The ship was now expected to arrive on Tuesday after repairs to its crane, Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant Joseph Coyme said.

More than 40,000 people and 200 km (120 miles) of coastline have been affected by the spill of industrial fuel after a tanker chartered by oil refiner Petron Corp. sank in heavy seas off the central island of Guimaras on August 11.

At least a 10th of its cargo of 2 million liters of bunker oil initially gushed out, polluting beaches and a marine park with black sludge, but there have also been signs of fresh leaks from the sunken tanker.

The 998-tonne Solar 1 is believed to be lying 640 meters (2,100 feet) under water off Guimaras island, beyond the reach of Philippine divers. The developing Southeast Asian country also lacks the heavy equipment to reach the tanker.

"We need to determine the exact location and condition of Solar 1 so we can decide whether to siphon the oil, lift the ship entirely with the remaining fuel or entomb the tanker using cement or sediment," said Carlos Tan, Petron's health, safety and environment manager.

The Japanese salvage ship has equipment that provides images of the ocean floor from a remotely operated vehicle. The cost of its mission will be paid by the insurance firm of the tanker's owner, Sunshine Maritime Development Corp.

An inquiry into the ship's sinking has called on Sunshine to explain why Solar 1's captain was allowed to sail without any advanced training on oil tanker operations. The captain's license was revoked earlier this week.

Petron, in which the Philippine government and Saudi state oil firm Saudi Aramco each have a 40 percent stake, has been criticized for the pace of its response to the disaster.

But Petron, the country's largest oil refiner, has insisted it is doing everything possible to contain the spill and help the residents of coastal areas cope by hiring them to clean beaches and mangrove trees.

Shares in the company finished down 3.85 percent at 3.75 pesos on Friday. The stock has shed 11 percent over the past two weeks.

HAIR AND FEATHERS

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered drop-off centers for human hair and chicken feathers to be set up in response to a call by the Coast Guard on Thursday for absorbent material to help soak up the spill.

"This is a national calamity that demands the cooperation and solidarity of all Filipinos," said Arroyo, who is scheduled to visit Guimaras on Saturday. "Let us do what has to be done first and deal with the blame later."

The municipal governments of Concepcion, Ajuy and Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo province put the towns under a state of calamity on Friday to speed up the release of funds for the cleanup.

Guimaras island had already been declared a calamity area due to the effects of the slick on 20 fishing villages, its tourism industry and the mangrove trees and coral reefs of a marine reserve.

Environmental groups said the spill also threatened the endangered giant clams at the Sagay Marine Reserve off the nearby island of Negros. "These are the last of the endangered giant clams of the Visayan Sea," marine biologist Angel Alcala told the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

(Additional reporting by Manny Mogato)
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