THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday said the oil spill response efforts in connection with the sinking of the oil tanker MT Princess Empress off Oriental Mindoro more than a month ago is moving to hot tapping and siphoning operations.
“That’s the next procedure. The next phase is hot tapping, then siphoning,” PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said, although he did not say when the next phase of the operation will start.
Balilo said hot tapping involves the installation of tubes on the tanks of the ill-fated vessel. These tubes, he said, will be later used to siphon off the remaining oil.
“They will be the one to do the hot tapping, then the siphoning,” Balilo said, referring to the insurer of the sunken ship, Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Club and the firms it will be contracting for the operations.
Earlier yesterday, the PCG said in a statement that the Remotely Operated Vehicle operation and bagging operations have been completed.
The ships involved in these operations, the P&I-contracted Japanese Dynamic Positioning Vessel (DPV) Shin Nichi Maru and the US-contracted DPV Pacific Valkyrie, left Oriental Mindoro last April 5 and April 7, respectively, upon completion of their mission.
PCG said only one pressure valve in the tanker was not capped with sa pecialized bag “due to obstructions that may compromise the ROV operation.”
It said the United Incident Command Post-Oriental Mindoro “is continuously coordinating with the Protection & Indemnity Club for the announcement of the contracted party to perform the hot tapping/siphoning of the remaining oil on board Mt Princess Empress.”
MT Princess Empress sank off Naujan in Oriental Mindoro last February 28 after encountering engine trouble due to overheating. It was transporting more than 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil to Iloilo.
The oil spill has gravely affected Pola, with town mayor Jennifer Cruz saying 4,800 fisherfolk families have been affected by the oil spill and about 200 others suffering oil spill-related sickness, with 80 still under observation.
