PHILIPPINES: Oil spill from sunken ferry in the Philippines threatens coastal villages

Record ID: 344338

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: Oil spill from sunken ferry in the Philippines threatens coastal villages
  • Date: 19th August 2013
  • Summary: CORDOVA TOWN, CEBU ISLAND, PHILIPPINES ( AUGUST 19, 2013) (REUTERS) MANGROVE FARM MAN WATCHING OIL WASHING ASHORE OIL ACCUMULATED BESIDE MANGROVE FARM THICK OIL COATING MANGROVE PLANTS LEAVES COVERED IN OIL FISHERMAN ON SMALL FISHING BOAT MANGROVE TREE TRUNK COVERED IN OIL VARIOUS OF FISHERMAN SHOWING HANDS COVERED IN OIL SEAWALL BLACKENED BY OIL OIL AND DIRT COVERING SEAWALL HEAD OF CORDOVA TOWN MARINE WATCH, FELIX PACALDO, LOOKING THROUGH BINOCULARS (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) HEAD OF CORDOVA TOWN MARINE WATCH FELIX PACALDO SAYING: "We will need a big rehabilitation on our mangrove plantations. It is a big problem since our mangrove plantation covers almost 10 to 20 hectares or more." VARIOUS OF SMALL FISHING BOATS DOCKED ASHORE FISHERMEN INSIDE VILLAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) FISHERMAN ERNESTO CABISO SAYING: "We have no livelihood right now because nobody will buy the fish we catch because of the oil and the dead bodies being recovered from the ferry. " TALISAY TOWN, CEBU ISLAND, PHILIPPINES (AUGUST 19,2013) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES CENTRAL COMMAND GENERAL ROY DEVERATURDA SAYING: "They will try to penetrate the inside of the vessel, and they are just taking precautions because this is a very dangerous operation. You must remember that a lot of debris and other broken materials are still inside the ship, as a result of the collision and sinking of the vessel." INVESTIGATORS INSPECTING CADAVER FAMILY MEMBERS OF VICTIMS AND MEDIA CADAVERS INSIDE BODY BAGS INVESTIGATORS GATHERING DATA FAMILY MEMBERS COVERING FACES TENT WHERE CADAVERS ARE BEING SENT FOR INSPECTION
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA1NDUGXLS0FRDRH5D92M5SIDTS
  • Story Text: An oil spill from a ferry that sank in the Philippines and killed at least 52 people, has reached the nearby coastal villages, threatening the livelihood of the residents, officials said on Monday (August 19).
    A ferry sank on Friday (August 16) after a collision just outside the central port of Cebu with a cargo vessel owned by a company involved in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster nearly 30 years ago.
    Officials said the oil spill came from the sunken ferry, which was loaded with 120,000 litres of bunker oil and 20,000 litres of diesel fuel.
    The oil spill has spread three kilometres from the impact site and into to the shores Cordova town, coating the nearby mangroves.
    "We will need a big rehabilitation on our mangrove plantations. It is a big problem since our mangrove plantation is covers almost 10 to 20 hectares or more," said Felix Pacaldo, head of Cordova Town Marine Watchers.
    Fisherman were complaining that all of their catch had been coated with oil and can no longer be sold or eaten.
    "We have no livelihood right now because nobody will buy the fish we catch because of the oil and the dead bodies being recovered from the ferry," said fisherman Ernesto Cabiso.
    An initial investigation showed the oil spill has affected some 3,000 hectares of the town's coastal area, prompting the town mayor to declare a state of calamity.
    Philippine Coastguard Central Visayas District Commander, Commodore William Melad, told reporters on Sunday (August 18) they had sent a team to contain the oil spill from further spreading, but the strong waves have made the process difficult.
    Divers were having a difficult time as the oil sheen was affecting visibility, he said.
    Armed Forces of the Philippines Central District Commander, Roy Deveraturda, told reporters that a team of experts from Japan has been contracted by the shipping company to help contain the oil spill from spreading further.
    The 40-year-old ferry was approaching Cebu late in the evening when it was struck by departing cargo vessel, the Sulpicio Express 7, leaving two huge holes in the latter's bow. The ferry sank in minutes, about a kilometre off Cebu.
    The Philippine Coastguard said they recovered 13 more bodies this morning, raising the number of casualties to 52, with 68 more still missing.
    Deveraturda said they have plans on expanding the search by going deeper into the sunken ferry, hoping to find more bodies trapped inside.
    "They will try to penetrate the inside of the vessel, and they are just taking precautions because this is a very dangerous operation. You must remember that a lot of debris and other broken materials are still inside the ship, as a result of the collision and sinking of the vessel," he said.
    Officials meanwhile told local media they have temporarily suspended the search for the missing passengers due to the rough waves.
    Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety. Overcrowding is common, and many of the vessels are in bad condition.
    Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya told reporters on Saturday (August 17) that President Benigno Aquino has ordered a thorough investigation of the incident and has formed a fact-finding body that will look into the cause of the collision and criminal liabilities of both ships.
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