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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Solar 1 victim a of oil pilferage?
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan
THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is now investigating reports that m/t Solar 1 was a victim of oil pilferage before it sank in the seas off the island of Guimaras on August 11.
Lieutenant Commander Joseph Coyme, concurrent spokesperson of the PCG and Task Force Guimaras Oil Spill, however, refused to comment on the matter saying that its is a very a "sensitive matter."
"I refuse to comment on this because all reports pertaining to this allegation have already been submitted to the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) that is tasked to investigate the accident," Coyme said.
Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela, also a spokesman of Task Force Guimaras Oil Spill in Western Visayas, likewise refused to comment.
Coscolluela said he is not in the position to comment so as not to preempt the result of investigation of the SMBI.
Sources from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), however, told Sun.Star Tuesday that prior to the incident, witnesses saw several fishing vessels, surrounding Solar 1 at the Panay area, and allegedly siphoning the oil.
This allegation, said the sources is almost 100 percent bolstered by the results of remote-operated-vehicle of Shinsei Maru vessel from Japanese which showed that one of the cargo hatch of Solar 1 was already fully opened while other one was half-opened.
Solar 1 was reportedly loaded with 2.7 million liters of bunker fuel by Petron Corporation from Bataan to Zamboangga.
Meanwhile, an executive of Petron Corporation said the company has no direct control over the ship personnel that manned the sunken m/t Solar I that caused a massive oil spill off Guimaras Island last August 11.
During a fact-finding investigation conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) task force led by Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, Petron distribution manager Rolando Salonga said the oil firm, in its dealings, only coordinates with the ship owner of the vessels that they charter.
Salonga said it is the Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation (SMDC) that has direct control over the crew and ship captain of Solar I.
"We have an accreditation process. Our requirement is to check the technical capability and financial status of the ship owners. We don't have a direct control over the crews and ship captain of the Solar I vessel because they are hired by the ship owner. We only coordinate with the ship owner," Salonga said of SMDC, which has been ferrying Petron's fuel cargoes since 2001.
But even if Petron has no supervisory powers over the tanker and its crew, Salonga said it conducts precautionary measures in ensuring the safe delivery of their fuel to their intended destinations.
Among the measures that they are undertaking are the conduct of ship inspections prior to loading time; requiring the ship owner to submit the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) certificate of insurance; Marina vessel registry and cargo ship safety equipment, which certifies that the ship comply with international safety standards and the vessel particulars and sea worthiness issued by the ship owner.
Salonga admitted to the DOJ panel that they only check once every six months if the licenses of the ship crews and its captain are up to date. (With reports from Sunnex)
(September 6, 2006 issue)
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