OIL TANKER SINKS IN NORTH CHANNEL - 8NM NE OFF CORREGIDOR !

[Nowhere Man]

A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on July 25, authorities said, as they raced against time to contain the spill.

The MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometers (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality early Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.

The incident happened as heavy rains fueled by Typhoon Gaemi, locally named Carina, and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions early in the week.

After setting out late Wednesday, the captain decided to abort the journey to Iloilo due to rough seas, but as the vessel turned back it was swamped by large waves and went down.

One crew member died, but 16 were rescued.


An oil slick stretching several kilometers has been detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told a briefing Thursday that it appeared diesel fuel used to power the tanker had leaked and, so far,
not the industrial fuel oil cargo.

The PCG has set a target of seven days to offload the cargo and prevent what Balilo warned would be the worst oil spill in Philippine history if it were to leak.

(At this stage, I cannot ascertain the exact location of the sinking, except to comment that any oil slick heading towards the mouth of Manila Bay is likely to pollute Corregidor's northern coastline.)

[snake]

The mind boggling question, which has been asked a number of times before in this country, is "Why on earth was the vessel given clearance to depart in such weather conditions?!"

These small tankers, 65 meters in length, have very little freeboard when fully loaded and are vulnerable to rough seas. 

The area of the sinking is approximately eight nautical miles NE of Corregidor, so on an outgoing tide the north coast would be badly affected in the event of a major oil spill. Let's hope that the cargo can be removed safely before this occurs.

MT Terranova

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Commentary by EXO

Thank you Snake, that's what we needed to know. 8NM NE of Corregidor.
Whoever gave the clearance was negligent, corrupt or insane. There is no fourth alternative. Someone should be charged with negligent manslaughter, or whatever passes for it there. Except you and I both know it'll never happen. Money changes hands and they'll blame the dead guy. 

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[EXO]

THEY DID IT AGAIN!!!!

1.4 million liters of stored industrial oil poised to pollute Manila Bay

MANILA, Philippines — Another fuel tanker, identified as the “MTKR Jason Bradley,” has sunk in shallow waters off Mariveles, Bataan, on Saturday afternoon as salvage operations on the sunken Terra Nova, which is still carrying its cargo of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel, was postponed, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the owners of Terra Nova entered into a "NO WIN, NO FEE" contract with HARBOR STAR to siphon the cargo from their sunken piece of s**t.  What an effing rort! 

PROFIT BEFORE POLLUTION! 

This is the way they look after the waters of Manila Bay? What a sick joke! 

[snake]

Here here mate! This one is on the same side of the peninsula as Terranova, about 3.5nm north of Corregidor. Unbelievable! 

From GMA News - "The 39-meter motor tanker was loaded with “diesel cargo” of an unknown quantity, contrary to the shipping company’s report that the vessel had no cargo on board." This would be very lucky if it didn't, so let's hope that they're not pulling legs here. 
According to the Manila Bulletin, this one departed without PCG clearance.

I'll check NTM next month to see if anything comes up about them.

[snake]

Chart of Manila Bay showing positions approximate (PA) for the two tankers from news reports. Terranova at depth 34 meters and Jason Bradley at depth 9 meters. NTM may issue more accurate positions within the next week.

These two come just 18 months after another tanker, MT Princess Empress, sank off NE Oriental Mindoro in deep water creating a major oil spill that caused damages of at least P41.2B (AUD1B+).
The sea was rough at the time, but just normal NE Monsoon weather, and it would appear that the accident occurred due to the unseaworthiness of the vessel. 
 
The investigation, in Wikipedia below, showed that the vessel had sailed nine times without permission, and there were reports of whether the tanker had permits to operate, falsified documents and falsified declarations as to when the ship was built or renovated.
Mind blowing stuff!
Charges have been filed against the company, Reield Marine Services, MARINA personnel and other individuals. We'll see if anything comes of it.
These latest ones show that perhaps not.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MT_Princess_Empress_oil_spill

[Karl Welteke]

A Third Vessel is Aground in Bataan near Corregidor and the Battle of the Points

MV Mirola 1 is the third vessel to run into trouble in the waters of Bataan, after MT Terranova and MKTR Jason Bradley sank in the past week.



Coast Guard starts oil recovery operations for MV Mirola 1
RAPPLER NEWS:

AUG 1, 2024 12:35 PM PHT
IYA GOZUM

The Rappler URL, click here:
www.rappler.com/philippines/coast-guard-oil-recovery-operations-mv-mirola-bataan/

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard started on Thursday, August 1, oil recovery operations of the MV Mirola 1, the vessel which ran aground in Mariveles, Bataan.


The said vessel ran aground on Wednesday, July 31, in the vicinity waters of Sitio Quiapo, Barangay Biaan in Mariveles.

Note from Karl: I know Barangay Biaan well from my many walks to and from the Battle of the Points. This was my starting and finishing spot.

[EXO]

Greenpeace Philippines on July 28, 2024, reported that the oil spill from the tanker Terra Nova that sank off the coast of Bataan
has now reached the waters of Hagonoy, Bulacan, approximately four kilometers from the coastline.

SAM MIGUEL'S CREATURE CORPORATION SETS A POLLUTION RECORD

- IT'S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU DRINK RED HORSE

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:35 p.m.) — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday divulged that the owner of the MT Terra Nova’s 1.4 million liter fuel cargo was the SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp— the same company who hired the ship that spilled 800,000 liters of oil in Oriental Mindoro last year.

The MT Princess Empress sank in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro in 2023, destroying local livelihood and plunging several towns into a state of calamity. More than a year later, another oil tanker sank, this time in the waters of Bataan.

A report of Rappler revealed that the company that chartered the doomed MT Princess Empress was the SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp, which is San Miguel Corporation's fuel import handling firm.

Now, the same company has also been revealed as the owner of the MT Terra Nova’s massive oil cargo.

“SL Harbor Bulk,” PCG Commandant Ronni Gavan said in a press briefing when asked who owns the cargo.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo also sent the complete name of the company in the video conference’s chat box, which is the SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp.

However, Gavan said that their priority remains to be mitigating the oil spill itself.

“We have to finish this as rapidly as possible,” said Gavan.

Gavan said that once the smoke settles, all efforts would be dedicated to investigation and law enforcement.

The PCG also tried to appease public's concern over the oil spill reach, saying that the government is on top of the situation.

"Walang oil sheen going towards Manila," Gavan said. (There is no oil sheen going towards Manila.)

According to Gavan, an inspection conducted on Tuesday revealed that there is no oil sheens in Bulacan and Cavite. Greenpeace Philippines earlier revealed aerial photos showing an oil streak in Bulacan, while fisherfolk group Pamalakaya reported oil on the shores of Cavite.

"There were some posts in the past days na hindi talaga namin mahanap yung mga pinost nila na yun. We did aerial and surface search, wala kaming makitang ganoon. I'm not saying it is fake," Gavan said. (There were some posts in the past days that we really could not find what they posted. We did aerial and surface searches, and we could not find anything like it.)

Gavan, however, said that it is possible for oil sheen to dissipate under the sun or get absorbed by the government's containment efforts.

Siphoning the oil from the MT Terra Nova has been the PCG's main plan to prevent an environmental disaster, however, it has yet to begin this as they needed to cap the ongoing leaks.

Gavan said that siphoning could begin on Thursday. The PCG Commandant called the operations dangerous, as they will have to penetrate the vessel to siphon out the oil.

Text from www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/07/30/2374144/pcg-company-chartered-mt-princess-empress-also-owns-mt-terra-nova-cargo


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[EXO]

WHAT THE MEDIA NARRATIVE WON'T TELL YOU

Have you noticed all the efforts the media are making to persuade you that the loss of not one, not two, but three tankers in Manila Bay is "fine", "just fine", "nothing to worry about", "in good hands", "under control"?

"Just leave it in our capable hands, and everything will be fine."

Pshaw! 

Were there any raids on the corporate offices of SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corp? Any seizures of records? Why are they waiting for all the smoke to settle? My confidential informant tells me that smoke is being blown up our collective ***. What a recipe for being able to find no incriminatory evidence? 

As for the most recent loss, there was no violent storm, no rough seas and no strong winds. There was heavy rain, that is all, not even a gale. Rain affects the visibility, but they have radars.

Was it overloaded to such a state that marginal seaworthiness was less than marginal? 

 A ship does not need Coast Guard clearance to depart. It is up to the Captain, all over the world. Captains have the option to depart in a hurricane or Typhoon,  so as not to get trapped in a port. Seaworthy ships are often better off at sea. 

(A correction EXO, courtesy of Snake. Under PCG Memorandum No 07 - 2012, all Philippine Registered Vessels are required to undergo a Pre-Departure Inspection before being cleared to depart. This doesn't appear to be enforced too often, though.)

But what happens when a Captain knows his vessel isn't seaworthy, I mean TRULY seaworthy? 

It is a stretch to refer these vessels as seaworthy vessels. Where are their SURVEY papers? Essentially they are barges with an engine, with low freeboard and, as a rule, are in poor condition. They could not be registered except in countries of convenience (low maritime standards) or in jurisdictions of easy virtue. In normal countries where survey standards are strict, they would have been scrapped decades ago. Big Money corporations buy their vessels cheap, and run them cheap, "self insure" them, and are prepared to write them off.  If their crews had world-class expertise, they would be hired elsewhere.  

Follow the money. San Miguel reigns supreme among Philippine companies, securing the 9th spot on the prestigious list of Southeast Asia's 500 largest corporations.

Meanwhile, Corregidor becomes even more diminished. Essentially, Corregidor is for sale to tourism entrepreneurs. Only just don't say the words "for sale" - it is, in the words of  Assistant Chief Operating Officer for Tourism Enterprise Zone Management Sector, Atty. Karen Mae G. Sarinas-Baydo,  now a "promoted prime tourism investment offerings in TIEZA’s designated Flagship Tourism Enterprise Zones (FTEZ)" which is "currently looking for investors that may be interested to locate a tourism-related project."

FURTHER READING
San Miguel Corp is lone Philippine company in ‘Dirty 30’ list of worst fossil companies.
(DIRTY means, in this context, reliance on toxic bonds - counting $4 billion of perpetual securities as equity, rather than debt.)

TIEZA LOOKING FOR AN INVESTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CORREGIDOR
tieza.gov.ph/tieza-promotes-prime-investment-destinations-in-the-first-ever-tourism-congress-and-travel-sale-for-vismin-stakeholders/

[snake]

Here are the locations of the two tankers issued by NTM.

No mention as yet of the other rust bucket, MV Mirola 1. I wouldn't be counting on the radar to have been in working order.

According to news reports, the vessel sailed without permission, was abandoned by the crew when it ran aground, and the owners are not cooperating with authorities.

A correction EXO. Under PCG Memorandum No 07 - 2012, all Philippine Registered Vessels are required to undergo a Pre-Departure Inspection before being cleared to depart. This doesn't appear to be enforced too often though.

coastguard.gov.ph/index.php/memorandums/12-mc/50-memorandum-circular-no-07-2012-pre-departure-inspection

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FURTHER COMMENTARY ON THE MV MIROLA 1 

The MV Mirola was a cargo ship, not a tanker, and according to The Philippine Star, the oil spilled from a drum or drums in the submerged cargo hold.

The vessel has a history with the Coast Guard. In January 2023, the Coast Guard detained 18 crewmembers and the vessel when they discovered her offloading oil to three smaller boats. They suspected smuggling and fuel pilferage of as much as 30,000 liters of diesel fuel.

In 2023 the PPA had no records of the vessel, so it was probably unregistered. 

It's all "interesting reading" to say the least!

[beirutvet]

Any word on if any of the oil has reached Corregidor?