THE Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) yesterday said it has found probable cause to file charges against the owner of the sunken oil tanker MT Princess Empress, which caused a massive oil spill in Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas.
“MARINA has completed its initial investigation on the shipping properties, on the show cause order issued before and a resolution has been issued finding probable cause to file a formal charge to the shipping company,” MARINA Deputy Administrator Sonia Malaluan said during an inter-agency committee meeting on the oil spill at the Department of Justice.
But she did not elaborate.
The ill-fated tanker was carrying more than 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank after encountering engine trouble last February 28.
Last March 23, MARINA issued a cease-and-desist order against RDC Reield Marine Services, the company that owns the sunken oil tanker. Covered by the order were the company’s certificate of public convenience and its remaining three vessels — two tankers and a passenger vessel.
The order will remain in force pending the result of the investigation on the February 28 sinking.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla vowed there would be criminal liability for those involved in the sinking of the oil tanker.
“All the details of the oil spill we want to get it too because we think that there should be liabilities here, there should be criminal liability involved in this case,” Remulla had said.
The DOJ has tapped the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the liability of the ship owner and others involved in the sinking.
Commodore Leysander Ordones, a DOJ consultant, said a 30-kilometer long and 3-kilometer-wide oil slick has been spotted by a satellite moving in a southwestern direction at around 25 kilometers a day.
Ordones said the oil slick may reach Puerto Princesa and Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and Mindanao.
Philippine Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Rolando Lizor Punzalan Jr. said they have deployed ships and aircraft to monitor the movement of the oil slick.
A US-contracted dynamic positioning vessel (DPV) is now in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro to help contain the oil seeping out of the sunken vessel.
In a statement, the PCG said Pacific Valkyrie, with a remotely operated vehicle, arrived in Naujan last Sunday after “boarding formalities” off Calapan City, the province’s capital.
“Immediately after the boarding formalities, the DPV proceeded to the oil spill site in the vicinity waters off Naujan to start its operations,” PCG said.
The vessel arrived in Subic, Zambales Tuesday last week.
The PCG said Pacific Valkyrie was contracted by the US Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving “to conduct thorough surveys and three-dimensional mapping of MT Princess Empress.
“DPV Pacific Valkyrie will attempt to execute remedial measures to mitigate the oil release coming from the sunken motor tanker using ROV Hydros,” the PCG said.
ROV Hydros, the PCG, said is a 2,000-lb vehicle “designed to meet the rapid deployable salvage requirements to a maximum performance depth of up to 5,000 feet.”
Officials have said the MT Princess Empress is about 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) below sea level.
PCG said the control system of DPV Pacific Valkyrie has an ROV dynamic positioning capability “enabling the vehicle to dive via computer instruction allowing hands-free position keeping, auto-translate movement, following pre-programmed routes, and go-to-position functions.”
Another ROV deployed by Japanese dynamic positioning vessel Shin Nichi Maru surveyed the vessel about two weeks ago and determined that MT Princess Empress suffered “extensive damage.”
The PCG reported that it has collected 4,526 sacks (about 113,150 kilos) and 22 drums (about 2,750 kilos) of oil-contaminated debris in 14 barangays in Naujan, Calapan and Pola during its shoreline cleanup from March 1 to April 3.
It said 700 square meters of mangrove area and approximately 32.33 kilometers of shoreline were affected by the oil spill. PCG said 20.50 kilometers of shoreline have been cleaned since March 1. — With Victor Reyes
