Motor tanker loaded with fuel stranded in Guimaras waters

ANOTHER spill of bunker fuel is feared to have happened in Guimaras seas after Coast Guard authorities discovered a motor tanker got stranded due to navigational problems Saturday.

Coast Guard officials found the crewmen of M/T Petro Clarissa stuck in Siete Picados Saturday after the vessel suffered navigation problems.

Coast Guard Deputy Commander Bon Dan Chan said the vessel, loaded with one million liters of regular fuel, was stranded. The suspected fuel had slicked.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) will be conducting water inspection at the site to ascertain the suspicions of an oil slick.

The 16 crewmen are to be interrogated for the reasons that why they got stranded in Guimaras.

There were reports that they have tried to conceal information regarding the incident but the Coast Guard found them first. (LABB, Sunstar Iloilo, Oct. 23, 2006)

Petron execs cry foul over oil spill reports

ILOILO CITY – Petron officials cried foul over the “unfair treatment” they claim to be getting from the national and local media on the sinking of MT Solar 1 off Nueva Valencia town in Guimaras on August 11 that resulted to the country’s worst oil spill.

“We’re almost two months here already, even now the footages that are being shown in TV are those taken on Day 2 of the oil spill. We consider it unfair especially since we’ve done all that is possible to clean Guimaras of the oil spill,” said Allan Victoriano, project officer of the Petron Foundation.

“The problem is, we’re being knocked about by politics, we’re also being battered in the media. That’s why I’m making this appeal to you now, to please at least try to balance the reporting of the news,” Victoriano added.

He said that just recently, two small boats carrying Petron personnel on their way to one of the affected islands overturned, almost killing the passengers. “But these stories, our stories are not being reported in the media, only those which are unfavorable to us. I hope these would change. As you can see, we’re facing both natural and man-made threats out here.”

Asked regarding the Army soldiers’ presence in places where Petron personnel are deployed, Victoriano said the soldiers were asked to provide security to their people, and sometimes act as escorts.

Meanwhile, to date over P15 million in wages have been spent to pay laborers employed in Petron’s Cash-for-Work Program in an effort to bring five of the hardest—hit villages back to normalcy. Ely Suyom, The Manila Times

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WHY does it always happen that the moment a Petron official opens his mouth, he shoots himself in the foot? Take this new joker Allan Victoriano… is he actually saying that a near-overturn of some boats carrying Petron employees has the same news value as Guimarasnons getting sick from toxic oil fumes, or a cover-up of the oil sludge on beaches? If those boats actually overturned and one of them was carrying Petron chairman Nick Alcantara, that would certainly make the headlines Mr. Victoriano! Boy, you make a very poor imitation of your IOPC lackey, Joe Nichols.

And if you guys are truly doing good, why are you afraid of your lives and need Army escorts? As far as the government reports go, there are no NPAs nor ASG/JI terrorists in Guimaras who could harm you or destroy your ‘good work.’ Bakit? Feeling nyo makikidnap-for-ransom kayo? Gee, how very presumptuous! Ang ‘OA’ nyo naman.

DoJ suspects Solar hole tied to oil smuggling

Inquirer, Oct. 23, 2006

WERE PIRATES pilfering oil behind the mysterious hole caught by the cameras of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that was sent down in late August to film the sunken MT Solar I?

The Department of Justice believes that oil smuggling was partly to blame for the sinking of the tanker in rough weather off Guimaras province on Aug. 11 while it was ferrying 2.1 million liters of oil for Petron Corp.

Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda has directed the National Bureau of Investigation to track down the MV Bonifacio, the vessel seen alongside the Solar I before it set sail from its Iloilo shelter on that fateful day.

However, there is no record of the Bonifacio with the Maritime Industry Authority. The vessel was believed skippered at the time by a brother of Solar I captain Norberto Aguro.

According to NBI Director Nestor Mantaring, his agency is seriously pursuing the investigation.

(For the full story, click DOJ suspects.)

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IS the Department of Justice chasing after ghosts? How apropos considering the upcoming Halloween!

This ‘oil smuggling’ theory has been beaten to death, and yet, ’til now DOJ can’t find evidence of another vessel siphoning oil from M/T Solar I while at sea. So what do our intelligent justice officials do? Find the brother of the Solar I skipper who just happens to be a captain of another vessel. And of course, 2+2=7! Brilliant!

Now the DOJ has conscripted even the NBI (who has more than enough unsolved cases on its hands that it can handle) to do its ghost-chasing. And if no further physical evidence is found of this so-called ‘oil smuggling’ theory, what will the DOJ think of next? Probably have the NBI find the Aguro brother and beat a confession out of him?

GUIMARAS OIL SPILL: Experts split on when to siphon fuel

By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer, Oct. 23, 2006

(First of a series of I-Team Report)

NO ONE CAN say precisely how much remains of the 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil the MT Solar I was carrying when it sank in stormy seas on Aug. 11 off Guimaras Island, causing the worst environmental pollution in the nation’s history.

Estimates range from zero to 80 percent of the cargo that was dumped into the water, says Rafael Coscolluela, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser for Western Visayas. He oversees the ground operations of a task force set up to deal with the multifaceted problems the oil spill has spawned.

Given the amount of oil that has smeared 184 kilometers of the Guimaras coastline, Coscolluela says there’s probably only the Solar I’s fuel that’s left in the tanker resting 630 meters deep on the sea floor.

He says others believe that only two of the 10 oil containers inside the tanker had opened and that 1.6 to 1.7 million liters of oil remained of the cargo the vessel was ferrying for Petron Corp. from its depot in Bataan to Zamboanga when disaster struck.

That’s what it appears from the footage taken in late August by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) sent down by experts on board the Shinsei Maru, a Japanese research ship commissioned by Petron to investigate what happened and what to do next.

Blobs of oil continue to escape from the tanker’s vents – some experts say amounting to 120 liters per day, although others dispute the figure. No one is certain. But the experts agree the steady leak dissipates harmlessly although it remains cause for concern.

(For the full story, click Experts split.)

A little more time – Petron

PETRON officials yesterday appealed for the public’s understanding and patience as they are doing their best to restore the island of Guimaras that was damaged by the oil spill when the tanker it chartered sank.

Felimon Antiporta, Petron’s vice president, said they already cleaned the shoreline of nine barangays; out of 14 barangays, only five are still undergoing massive restoration.

The cleaned areas have been duly certified by a team composed of the DENR, DOH, Regional Development Council, the local government in Guimaras and Petron.

Antiporta said that aside from the residents they employed to help in the cleanup are 145 employees of Petron who work daily.

“We know that there is still much work to be done and that we are doing everything to satisfy the public. But we need their understanding because we cannot make miracles.

We promise, however, that we will not leave the place until it is fully cleaned and restored,” Ms. Malu Erni, executive director of Petron, told radio and television audience yesterday over Reklamo Publiko program at Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center, Iloilo City.

Hosted by Danny Fajardo, other guests of the program were Willy Toledo, general manager of the Technical Services Department; and Rolando Salonga, operations manager.

It has been 65 days already since the Solar l tanker sank, 650 meters down into the ocean floor off Guimaras Strait on August 11.

Owned by Sunshine Maritime Shipping Corp., the tanker carried 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel from the Bataan plant of Petron, spurting them out into Guimaras’ shorelines.

Antiporta said their company already spent more than P100 Million for the cleaning activities, including gasoline/diesel expenses, dispersants, salaries, hauling, food, medicines, etc.

According to Salonga, they are meticulous in the cleaning because the inspection team is also strict, and to avoid public criticism.

Toledo likewise allayed fears that in the transport of the gathered debris, there might be mishandling, resulting to more environmental harm.

“Everything is taken cared of to avoid spoilage and wastage along the way to our destination in Mindoro where the gathered sludge is being processed into asphalt cement,” he said.

Antiporta assured the public that the International Oil Pollution Commission would do the re-floating of the sunken vessel in the next few months when the weather would be cooperative.

“Claims of affected residents are also being processed now by Stevens Adjusters and in due time they would be compensated,” he pointed out. (Press release, Panay News, Oct. 22, 2006)