Monday, July 02, 2007 Probers find no oil spill off San Fernando
NOT a trace of spilled oil was seen when separate teams from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) inspected the Trigon Shipyard in San Fernando town last Thursday.
But unsatisfied by mere visual inspection and by the data the management provided, the EMB and PCG personnel took seawater samples for laboratory analysis to check for heavy metal contamination.
The three agencies visited the shipyard after lawyer Benjamin Cabrido of environmental organization Green Forum reported that he witnessed oil leaking from the dry-docked cargo vessel MV Accord.
“They were pumping out water that had seeped into the cargo hold area when we came. The water is mixed with crude and bunker oil, but they placed it in big containers,” Marina Safety Engineer Mardon Martin told Sun.Star Cebu in a mobile phone interview.
He said there was “broken and minimal spread of oil” carried by sea currents from the shipyard to Barangay Sangat’s shores.
Martin said the PCG and EMB also took samples from Sangat’s waters to confirm if the oil came from Trigon.
Penalty
“On our side we saw no violation, but we can use the findings of EMB and Coast Guard as grounds to penalize the owner of the vessel. (Penalty) ranges from a fine to cancellation of franchise,” he said.
MV Accord ran aground recently in Tabaco, Albay, which left a hole in its cargo hold area.
EMB 7 Director Alan Arranguez said they were careful in dealing with the report because this is the second time the firm was accused of contaminating the waters of Sangat with bunker oil.
“I can’t say if there was an oil spill before my team arrived in Trigon. Let’s wait for the result of the sampling. If it is confirmed, we will call the (shipyard’s) management for a technical conference to brief them of the penalty and the measures to prevent the same situation from happening,” he said.
In August last year, Trigon was accused of discharging crude oil into the sea, but responding Marina, PCG and EMB 7 experts found no traces of oil in the water.
Instead, the EMB discovered other violations such as the lack of an environmental compliance certificate for its expansion from a ship repair to ship wrecking business, as well as the discharge of untreated wastewater and used oil into the sea.
The company also lacked a Department of Environment and Natural Resources permit for its blasting equipment and generator set. (AIV)
