A drone view shows an oil slick in the waters off the coast of Manila Bay, in Pamarawan, Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal
MANILA (Bernama-dpa): Specialist divers are sealing nine leaking valves of an oil tanker that sank in the Philippines to prevent more of its cargo from spilling into Manila Bay, the coastguard has announced.
The MT Terra Nova was carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil when it sank on Thursday in Manila Bay off Limay town in Bataan province, west of the capital.
Coastguard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said the divers from a private salvage company hired by the owners of Terra Nova have so far put two layers of sealant around the leaking valves and were monitoring if these would hold.
Balilo said the length of the oil slick from the tanker was "probably” back to three kilometres from up to 14 kilometres on Saturday, after dispersants were used to contain the spill.
International marine protection organisation, Oceana, has warned that the oil spill could harm and damage fishing grounds, wildlife and coral reefs in Manila Bay.
Last year, the Philippines faced one of the worst oil spills in the country when a tanker with 800,000 litres of industrial oil sank off Oriental Mindoro Province.
The spill affected almost one million hectares of municipal waters, including around one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world. - Bernama-dpa
