By LILITA BALANE
abs-cbnNEWS.com
June 16, 2008
The first Philippine-made, double-hulled oil tanker, designed to prevent costly and environmentally-destructive oil spills such as the disaster that hit Guimaras in 2006, is now sailing.
“The ship is currently transporting bunker fuels in different parts of the country. From the Pacific Ocean to the Petron refinery in Bataan. It started last April 8. So far, the performance of M/T Matikas is far more than we expected.” George Cottrell, president of the Herma Shipyard Inc., said Monday.
Hermio Esguerra, chairman of the Herma Group of Companies, told reporters double-hulled ships such as M/T Matikas would help lower the incidence of oil spills.
Esguerra said that the ship that sank in Guimaras was a single-hulled oil tanker. With a double-hull, petroleum products are protected on all sides, he added.
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