Oil spill’s impact on the ecology

NATURE FOR LIFE
By Anabelle E. Plantilla

A LOT has already been reported and said about the recent oil spill which has now adversely affected marine sanctuaries and mangrove reserves in three out of five municipalities in Guimaras Island and reached the shores of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. It is heartbreaking that the oil spill occurred in the Visayas Sea which is considered a rich fishing ground that supplies most of the fisheries demand for the entire country. (NDCC, August 2006)

Oil spills inhibit the growth of phytoplankton which are the primary source of food for all marine life (Castro and Huber, 2000). Oil clogs the gills of fishes and the filtering structure of benthic organisms such as oysters and clams. Feeding and reproduction are also hindered and these organisms become susceptible to diseases. Its effects on corals are swollen tissues, excessive production of mucus and tissue degeneration. For marine birds and mammals, such as whales and dolphins, their insulation and buoyancy are affected since their feathers and fur become matted and soaked with oil (Sumich, 2000).

Among coastal ecosystems, the mangrove forest and salt marshes are the most sensitive since oil cannot be dispersed by wave action and is absorbed by the fine sediment characteristics of these areas. It can remain in these areas for more than a decade. Lightly oiled mangroves are likely to recover after a year while those that were heavily oiled will delay its recovery. There are also observed decrease of flower and seed production and defoliation resulting in seeding mortality and a lower growth rate.

Haribon sent its two biologists to Guimaras to rapidly assess the damage and talk to the affected communities regarding their immediate needs. Definitely Haribon will be providing assistance to the area particularly for the long-term rehabilitation of the area. Finally, the government has evacuated the affected families who have already been exposed to the toxic elements of the crude oil. According to reports gathered in the field, people have already contracted skin diseases.

(Click Nature, Sept. 2, 2006.)

Kaon na ta!

Iloilo town holds festival to prove it’s safe to eat seafood

By Ma. Diosa Labiste

ILOILO CITY – In a show of support for its beleaguered fishing industry, the coastal town of Dumangas in Iloilo province held a seafood festival Thursday to show that it is safe to eat seafood despite the oil spill from the sunken tanker Solar I.

The festival drew close to a hundred fish vendors and their “suki” (regular buyers).

The seafood spread of grilled bangus, shrimps, oysters, mussels and tilapia, among others, was held at the town’s market and billed “Isda kag pakinhason safe kaunon (It’s safe to eat fish and shellfish).”

At a signal, Dumangas Mayor Rolando Distura and other officials dipped their hands in a washbowl and helped themselves to grilled seafood. Soon after, everyone moved in to have his or her fill.

Dumangas, 35 kilometers north of Iloilo City, is one of the areas threatened by the oil slick from the Solar I. To prevent the oil from contaminating their shore and 4,500 hectares of fishponds, townsfolk installed booms made of rice straw, old fish nets and bamboos a mile offshore.

But while the local fishing industry remains safe from the onslaught of the oil spill, incomes have dipped significantly, according to officials and fishmongers.

Consumers fear that fish and shellfish are contaminated even if the recent advisory from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said fish caught in the open waters of Guimaras Strait and Panay Gulf is safe to eat.

(Click seafood for the full story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Slick-free resorts cash in on oil spill tourism

By Hazel P. Villa

NUEVA VALENCIA, Guimaras – Call it oil spill tourism.All is not lost for beach resorts in the province whose tourism industry is reeling from the massive oil slick from MT Solar I, which sank on Aug. 11 in Guimaras Strait.

Working tourists

At slick-free Alubihod Beach here, four resorts have their hands full catering to the needs of a new breed of visitors – the “working tourists.” Wearing “oil spill getups,” they go to oil-affected coastal villages and islets almost daily carrying any of the following: spades, television and digital cameras, radio handsets and notebooks.

Since Aug. 16, Raymen Beach Resort’s 28 air-conditioned rooms and 14 ordinary rooms have been booked by some 60 Petron Corp. officials and employees, who are overseeing clean-up operations, according to resort manager Salvacion Gentizon.

Raymen still found space to accommodate a crew of 16 people from two television networks and the occasional reporter from international wire agencies and national broadsheets.

The resort charges P1,200 to P1,600 daily for air-conditioned rooms and P500 to P800 for ordinary rooms.

With Raymen as the resort of choice, other working tourists are accommodated by nearby beach resorts Freelance, Rico and Villa Igang.

Villa Igang is owned by the John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation that uses the resort as training ground for its maritime students.

All these resorts face Iloilo Strait and are accessible to the most heavily affected coastal barangays of Lapaz and Tando, some 11 to 15 km away.

Click slick tourism for the full story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Safety officer had no clear knowledge of tanker – prober

By Joel Guinto

THE SAFETY officer of the sunken M/T Solar I appeared to be clueless about the seaworthiness of the oil tanker, the head of the government fact-finding team looking into the sinking said Friday.

Macario Macariola of the Sunshine Maritime and Development Corporation (SMDC) clammed up when asked difficult questions by members of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI).

Under intense questioning, Macariola answered repeatedly: “I can’t answer that now.”

The Solar I, owned by SMDC and chartered by Petron Corporation, was carrying some two million liters of bunker fuel when it went down in rough seas off Guimaras province on August 11.

Since then, experts believe up to 1.3 million liters have leaked out from the tanker, one of the worst oil spills in the country’s history.

“Apparently we are getting the impression that the safety officer (Macariola) does not have a very clear knowledge of the condition of the vessel,” said Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja, who chairs the fact-finding board tasked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sinking.

“Gulong-gulo ang isip nya (His mind is very troubled). He just came from Guimaras,” Abinoja added.

(Click safety officer, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Govt to overhaul shipping rules after oil spill

ILOILO – The government is set to overhaul its shipping rules following the country’s worst ever oil spill, a senior government official said Friday.

Compulsory use of double-hulled oil tankers, restricted shipping lanes and a ban on tankers making port calls in densely populated areas and passing through marine reserves are some of the measures under consideration.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, head of the government’s task force looking into the disaster, said all domestic tankers carrying oil in Philippine waters would be required to have double hulls by 2008.

He said a full overhaul of shipping rules was needed to prevent another spill similar to the one that happened off the coast of central Guimaras island three weeks ago, adding that random inspections would be stepped up.

(Click overhaul for the full story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

NDCC status report

Click the link below to read the latest report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council regarding the oil spill in Guimaras.

ndcc_media_update_aug_30.pdf

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***(Site administrator: Guys, kindly inform me if this file doesn’t open. Thanks.)

Oil spills reduce fish production–GMA News research

GIS: OIL SPILLS AND FISH PRODUCTION

Findings:

- Marine experts say oil spill is one of the indirect causes of decreased fish production
- Three areas with decreased fish production—Metro Manila, Negros Occidental and Davao City–figured in oil spills. (with map)
- The Philippines’ top fishery areas had been threatened by oil spills in the last few years. (with map)

According to the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, oil spill is one of the indirect causes of decreased fish production . Oil slicks prevent free exchange of oxygen from air and water. Oil slicks prevent sunlight from reaching deeper levels of water where coral thrive, thus limiting food production of plants (photosynthesis).

Bunker oil is made up of pollutive compounds like sulfur compounds, nitrogenous compounds and other heavy metals. Presence of these compounds disturb the natural ecosystem of coral reefs and mangroves. Once this harmonious relationship is disturbed, less planktons and fishes stay in the area.

Oil slick covers the gills and scales of fish, making it hard for them to breathe and swim. This drives the fishes away or ultimately kills the fishes.

As a result, fishes will tend to avoid the polluted areas.

The total volume of fishery production increased by an average of 7.24 percent from 2003 to 2005.

However, a closer look at data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics shows that 16 areas have a decreasing trend in the harvest of sea products.

(For the full details, click research.)

Tanker owner fined a pittance

• PRC suspends Solar I captain

THE Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Friday placed under preventive suspension the captain of the MT Solar I, the source of the massive oil spill wreaking havoc in central Philippines.

Embattled Capt. Norberto Aguro, who commanded the ill-fated vessel on its last voyage on August 11, has been under fire for supposedly lacking training certification for oil tanker operations.

“On the impact of the event, we don’t want Aguro to be going on board [other vessels] while we determine his liability,” said Roberto Arceo, director of the Maritime Safety Office.

The development came on the third day of the formal hearings of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) into the sinking of the MT Solar I. Senior government officials gave the board until September 11 to come up with its final report.

Probers began a closed-door executive session shortly before the announcement was made.

(Click pittance for the full story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

$92M more sought for Exxon Valdez oil spill

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – State and federal authorities on Thursday demanded $92 million from ExxonMobil Corp. to clean up oil that has lingered in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska since gushing from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989.

A $900 million settlement in 1991 included a “reopener” provision that allows a request for up to $100 million more in cleanup money, as long as government officials prove that wildlife or its habitat were still suffering spill-related setbacks that were unforeseen when the settlement was signed.

Along with the demand for $92 million, state and federal agencies sent Texas-based Exxon an extensive budget plan for finding and cleaning up the leftovers of the 11-million gallon spill.

Oil remains trapped beneath armor-like layers of rock and spread like pavement on some beaches, according to the recovery plan.

The letter sent Thursday is a formal follow-up to a request for the money that state and federal officials made in May.

Mark Boudreaux, a spokesman for Exxon, said about 350 studies show that the spill has left no lingering damages in the sound. Many of the studies were funded by Exxon.

(For the full story, click Exxon Valdez, Sept. 1, 2006.)

No comment ;-|

Car thieves victimize DENR chief’s son

CAR thieves struck again in Quezon City Thursday, victimizing Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes’ son, ABS-CBN News reported Friday.

Police said Angelito Reyes’s black Mitsubishi Pajero (XAU-931) was stolen at 9 p.m. while parked along Matahimik Street in Teacher’s Village.

Anti-carnapping units have been alerted and are now trying to locate the stolen vehicle.

It was not known if the victim lives in the village or he was just visiting a friend during the time of the incident.

(Click No comment, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Say that again Ace?

Oil spill hurts tourism, too

By NESTOR P. BURGOS

INAMPULUGAN ISLAND, Guimaras — The oil spill that has devastated wide areas of Guimaras is taking its toll on the promising and vibrant tourism industry of this island, resort owners and tourism officials say.

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said that two weeks after the oil spill, resort owners suffered P3.54 million in losses from cancelled bookings and opportunity losses. He said tourists have stayed away from the island even if only a portion of the tourist destinations have been affected or threatened by the oil spill. (See blog posting Aug. 30 below)

Tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta said that, of the 24 tourist destinations affected by the spill, seven are beach resorts, four are island resorts are 13 are islets including the Taklong island where a national marine sanctuary is located. Helen Stummer, owner of the Nagarao Island Resort, said bookings made by their mostly foreign guests were canceled right after the oil spill tragedy.

The island is known for its diving sites. But sludge has covered its beaches since the MT Solar I sank southwest of Guimaras on August 11 carrying 2 million liters of bunker fuel.

The cancellations include regular guests who rent beach cottages from one to three months usually in the period from October to February. Salvacion Gentizon of the Raymen Beach Resort in Nueva Valencia said a booking for 30 guests from Manila who were planning to stay for three days was canceled.

(For the full story, click Visyayan Daily Star, Aug. 30, 2006.)

Beyond Guimaras

IT is tragic enough to countenance that an environmentally devastating incident like what happened in Guimaras almost three weeks ago should affect part of our seas, it is much more troubling to consider that it has devastated some of the living things that inhabit its depths.

Then consider the effect of such incident on the lives of humans that look to the seas as a source of livelihood.

No consolation

While the latest assessment on the spread of the deadly oil slick was that it has slowed down and would not reach the waters around Cebu, still it is hardly a consolation to us.

According to the Coast Guard, the slick “has reached the country’s richest fishing grounds.”

Its search and rescue operation noted that the oil has drifted to the Visayan Sea, one of the richest fishing grounds of the republic.

At the moment, estimates of the leak from the sunken 998-ton tanker Solar 1 have gone down to “less than 10 liters of oil per day, as against the estimated 500 liters per day” shortly after the ship sank in the deep waters south of Guimaras on August 11.

(Click Beyond Guimaras for the full editorial, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Oil slick now in Oton, Tigbauan

By Lory Ann B. Bilbao

THE OIL spill from the sunken M/T Solar 1 tanker has already reached the seas of Iloilo towns — Tigbauan and Oton — and close to the city’s coastal village, Villa.

City Mayor Jerry Treñas revealed this to the local media Thursday after receiving the report from Oton Mayor Carina Flores the same day.

The Coast Guard here found oil sheen in the same coastal towns.

Tigbauan is more or less 25 kilometers away from the city, in land, but its seas share a common boundary of Guimaras’s northern tip.

“We hope the spill won’t be coming in (city’s coastal areas),” Treñas told reporters.

Treñas said he has already informed and alerted City Disaster Coordinating Office Chief Joe Papa, village chiefs, Iloilo City Police Director Norlito Bautista and the Coast Guard Commander here, to act accordingly.

(For the full story, click slick, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Petron passes buck of checking tanker’s condition to owner

By Joel Guinto

ENSURING the seaworthiness of the oil tanker M/T Solar 1, which caused one of the worst oil spills in Philippine history, is the responsibility of its owner and ship captain, an official from Petron Corp. said Friday.

The oil company, which chartered the vessel that sank off Guimaras Island last August 11, only conducts “random” safety inspections on the tankers it commissions, Rolando Salonga, the firm’s distribution manager, told the Special Board of Marine Inquiry.

While a “series of inspections” is done prior to loading of bunker fuel, Salonga said Petron relied on safety inspection documents submitted by owners of chartered vessels, which they would compare against an internationally approved checklist from the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).

Based on documents submitted by M/T Solar 1 owner Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., the vessel was “suitable and rated A,” Salonga said.

“It is really the responsibility of the ship owner to check if something needs to be corrected,” Salonga said.

“We cannot monitor every voyage of the vessel. The vessel master has the knowledge if there are difficulties,” he said.

He said the last safety check on M/T Solar 1 was on Feb. 27, 2006, right after its last dry docking or general inspection.

(Click passing the buck for the story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

BFAR: Sea shells, crabs, seaweeds in Guimaras unsafe

RESIDENTS beware.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Friday all types of sea shells, young crabs and seaweeds found in the oil spill affected waters in Guimaras Strait and Panay Gulf are not safe for human consumption.

Benjie Tabios, BFAR assistant director, said among the types of sea-shells that are not safe for consumption include mussels, oyster and clams as well as young crabs, seaweeds, burrowing organisms and nursery stages of fish.

Tabios explained that aquatic plants and animals that live closer to shore were more vulnerable to the effects of the oil spill caused by the sinking of MT Solar I on August 11.

As for fin fishes, Tabios said they are safe for eating provided that people should check first if the fish that was caught has no smell at all, particularly that of benzyne, a type of chemical which can be found in crude oil.

“If they (consumers) eat fish (or any kind of seafood) which was affected by the oil spill, it can poison them and worse, kill them in the process,”
Tabios said during in a phone interview.

(Click unsafe for the rest of the story, Sept. 1, 2006.)

More tanker containers at risk of leaking oil

MORE compartments of the sunken tanker MT Solar I are in danger of leaking bunker oil into the Guimaras Strait and nearby seas in Central Philippines, Japanese surveyors found Friday morning.

The underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the Japanese ship Shinsei Maru detected signs that the containers may burst open when it made a second pass at the area where the tanker sank.

“A look of the 10 compartments showed the gaskets already sustained some damage. Compartment 4 was already open, and it was likely the oil that leaked out came from it,” dzBB radio quoted ROV operators as saying.

They said the leaked oil was concentrated at “Ground Zero,” and that the oil sheen that extended outside the area did not pose too much of a threat.

(For details, click risk, Sept. 1, 2006.)

Will maritime officers investigate selves?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc

A Special Board of Marine Inquiry, formed because the oil spill by M/T Solar-1 hit the front pages, began work this week. It has established the following so far:

• The motorized tanker set sail from the Petron refinery in Limay, Bataan, for Zamboanga on Aug. 9 laden with 2.1 million liters of bunker oil. Southwest monsoon (habagat) waters were very rough, weathermen had reported. Solar-1 held a certificate for 16 crewmen, but had 20 on board, and only 19 life vests. Yet the Coast Guard unit in Limay cleared it to sail. Ship captain Norberto Aguro took the shorter route west of Panay Island in the open Visayas Sea, instead of east where waters relatively were calmer. He said he wanted to save on costs.

• Off Panay’s Antique province, Aguro noticed the tanker pitching forward. Four other crewmen said it was listing to starboard (right side). Aguro decided to seek shelter at the anchorage of Iloilo province. But he did not drop anchor, either with the intention of continuing the voyage or because the motor room, where the anchor’s electric control is located, was filled with water. At the stop, the crew noticed that the forecastle deck up front was taking in water. Too, the forepeak tank, chain locker room, and bosun’s store were flooded. They pumped out the water and plugged the leak of a damaged air vent.

• The tanker restarted in worse weather on Aug. 11. Hit by five-meter-high waves off Guimaras Island in the afternoon, it began listing anew to starboard. Aguro ordered the pilot to head for safety either in Guimaras or Bacolod in Negros Island. Too late, the tanker simply flipped over belly up, then sank 600 meters to the seabed. Eighteen of the crew, including two Petron surveyors, made it to the lifeboat. Two others were lost at sea and are presumed dead.

• It turned out that Aguro’s certificate of competency (COC) as marine master was for general chemical tankers, not oil. He once held a COC for general oil tankers, expired in 2002. He never took a specialized oil tanker training that the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) had required for masters starting 2005. He had advanced training for chemical tankers, but the COC for this too had expired in 2002. Aguro, who has worked on Japanese chemical and LPG tankers, claims that a COC for such vessels is superior to an oil tanker’s. His employer, Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. president Clemente Cancio, assumes the same. Aguro has been in Cancio’s employ for five years. Cancio hired Aguro because Solar-1 used to be commanded by only a second mate. But Solar-1 has an auxiliary captain because Sunshine had suspended Aguro several times for violating Petron’s rule of using a tugboat to enter Limay port.

• Solar-1 last dry-docked on Jan. 7 to Feb. 24. Its tanks, steel plates, piping and welding works were said to be in good condition. There was rust in the ballast tanks, but inspectors had dismissed it as minor.

(Click Jarius for the rest of the column, Sept. 1, 2006.)

On Petron’s foot-in-mouth disease

Asking for a boycott

OBVIOUSLY Petron Corp., the owner of the two million liters of bunker fuel carried by the ill-fated Solar I, was not prepared for an accident the size of which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared a national disaster.

Even its spokesman the affable Virginia Ruivivar, is saying the wrong things, agitating the public rather than calming it down. Her statements have added fuel to the growing clamor for a boycott of Petron products.

The Petron spokesman and perhaps the whole management team of Petron could use of a crisis media management workshop, something they should have taken a long time ago, so they can have a better grip of the media situation, at least.

I attended a few such workshops as a resource media person and the best one I participated in was given by Ping Sotto, who has handled them not only here in the Philippines but also all over Asia. Petron should not mind if Sotto used to work for Pilipinas Shell. In fact, his petroleum industry experience should be helpful.

The most disquieting statement coming from Ruivivar and which she has repeated over and over again is her insistence that Petron has neither a legal nor a contractual liability for the damage caused by the bunker fuel spill caused by the Solar I.

Obviously Ruivivar is just following instructions from Petron management when she mouths that line. Petron management must have also been advised by their lawyers who also obviously do not understand media and should also be included in the list of those who should take the workshop.

The lawyers apparently do not want Petron to open itself to the expected deluge of lawsuits that will be filed against it because of the incident. In fact, some resort owners in Guimaras have already announced their intention to file multimillion peso damage suits against Petron.

(Click Alvin Capino for the rest of the column, Sept. 1, 2006.)