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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Captain asleep during accident
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
SHIP Captain Norberto Aguro of the MT Solar 1, which caused the oil spill in some areas of Guimaras, said he was asleep when the accident happened.
He revealed this during the initial investigation done by the Board of Marine Inquiry.
Aguro said at the cabin he was in, one can't feel the ship's movements as well as the waves. He woke up only when the ship was already on its side.
He also admitted that they were not able to secure weather information from the weather bureau.
Suit
Meanwhile, an executive of Petron Corporation said they could not sued by any group.
"We have a valid contract with the ship owner. Our legal liabilities are up to the Marine Board-Philippine Coast Guard which is presently conducting an investigation," Petron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nick Alcantara told the media Tuesday.
Alcantara also expressed regret over the accident and assured the public that they will not leave its responsibility.
Seaworthy
Manager of Health Safety and Environment and representative of the corporation in the region, Carlos Tan showed in his report that the sunken vessel was 'seaworthy' if it is to be the focal point of argument.
The vessel that has sank in August 11 and has now reportedly spilled more or less half million liters of oil, "being classed by Bureau of Veritas Quality International (BVQI), an international classification society for certifying the sea-worthiness of vessels."
Such classification is a prerequisite for insurance coverage.
The vessel was also fully insured as it stands as one of the members of Protection and Indemnity Club (P & I), an association of ship owners who agree to insure each other with respect to specified risks arising from the operation of their ships.
The ship was insured of US $300 million, said Tan. This covers incidences such as that of the August 11, the pollution damage. Such were compensable damages to property, clean-up onshore and sea, economic losses incurred of fishermen and mariculture and to tourism and reinstatement of the environment.
Further, Tan cited that the vessel was issued with a certificate of inspection from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina). The PCG has inspected the ship before it has navigated.
Not overloaded
Tan further discussed that the vessel was carrying 2.19 million liters of bunker fuel or three percent less out of its carrying capacity of 2.24 million liters.
The Provincial Government of Guimaras and the justice department expressed that they are open to filing case against Petron for the spillage of its 2.19 million liters of oil.
Don't deserve
Petron President Khalid Al-Faddogh said the encouragement of a boycott of their products here is unfair, as they have been doing their job.
"This is an open market. The customers have the choice. But let the customers judge us according to our deeds."
He added that Petron is not leaving the island and other affected areas for as long as their ecological wealth has not returned.
Alcantara said, "Hindi tama na iboycott and produkto ng Petron. Hindi masisisi ang Petron sa nangyari. (It's not right that Petron's products be boycotted. Petron can't be blamed for what happened)."
"It was an accident, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo even admitted so. Petron is number one in sales in the province. It has been marketing here for more than 40 years," he added.
Dumangas Mayor Rolando Distura Tuesday called for a boycott of all Petron products. He made this urging after "the deadline given to Petron to take action has lapsed."
The Iloilo Provincial Board felt no assurance that the vessel will be re-floated, thus decided to put in place its call of boycotting Petron's products.
Losses
Alcantara said the price of oil will not be the defense mechanism, despite losses have been incurred.
"The corporation has also incurred expenses on its relief operations but it remains insignificant," he said.
As of now the spill has affected a total of 3,357 families only from the three out of the five towns in Guimaras-Nueva Valencia, Sibunag and San Lorenzo.
The spill damaged a total of 220 kilometers of shoreline, 454 hectares of mangrove and 58 hectares of seaweed farms.
Petron has conducted clean up operations three days after the spill after it has made and aerial survey on August 12.
Obligation
Tan underscored that Petron has been carrying out its obligation to the spill by implementing a "Cash for Work" program where the present 1,200 working men for the clean up operations will be paid P300 from the earlier P200 pronouncement.
This pay is not compensation but relief assistance, said Tan.
The paying insurance company has deployed men to conduct workshops among the affected people of Guimaras on how to file claims and pays.
P & I is keen to evaluate claims and make reimbursements without delay, Tan said.
The P & I and its partner, International Oil Pollution Fund, have tasked the Seven Adjusters as its focal point for receiving all pollution damage and claims.
Cleared
Executive Director of the Petron Foundation Malu Erni said there were already three villages cleared from the spill.
They are Canhawan, Igdarapdap and Dolores, which were "cleaned up completely." As of now there are 80 hectares cleaned-up with a total of 516.40 metric tons of oil debris collected, said Erni.
The transfer site of the debris now collected in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras is being coordinated with the Provincial Government of Guimaras and the DENR.
Tan said while the disposal site in Guimaras is temporary, safety considerations were considered that the design of the site will be made plastic lined-and control of leachate.
Petron is now coordinating with a waste processing facility, Holcim Philippines to buy the debris as secondary fuel.
Re-float
To re-float the ship, insurance company of the owner of the sunken vessel -Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation (SMDC) has hired Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co. Ltd., a Japanese shipping firm.
Its ship, Shinsei Maru with a remote operated vehicle (ROV)-Hakuyo 200, that will determine the extent of the ship's damage, will come to the sunken area Thursday if the weather permits. It left Okinawa, Japan last Saturday, 1 p.m. Philippines time.
Western Visayas Police Director Geary Barias, on the other hand, said lifting the vessel from the belly of Guimaras Strait is not a problem for Petron, because it (tanker) was already located by the satellite use by the National Mapping and Research Administration (Namrea) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Avoid
As its long-term goal in guarding against the occurrence of the same incident, Petron revealed that it is procuring modern and newer vessels carried under its project "Shipping Alliance".
These vessels chartered through this will have double-hulled and double-bottoms. This was in line with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) requirement by 2008.
Fishes
Drusila Esther Ong, officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) Western Visayas, said they have already tested the waters in at least 12 barangays where there is an oil spill, sheen or sleek.
The Bfar had also tested the fishes from those barangays and found that the fishes remain safe to be eaten. She said it is the shellfish, crabs and other sea creatures that live in burrows that are affected and are not fit for consumption.
Ong said while there may be an oil spill, fishes from the open sea are safe as they can move around and evade being affected by the oil spill unlike shellfishes and other sea creatures that lives and may even be stuck in the burrow.
She said they have conducted the testing weekly and are set to make new tests, especially those involving the sea creatures on Wednesday. She said they use at least one kilo of fish and other sea products from each barangay for their tests.
Ong said they would start sending their samples and test results to the Bureau of Food and Drugs (Bfad) for additional testing.
Relocation
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, for his part, recommended for the relocation of children, elderly and pregnant women from the oil spilled-contaminated areas following the reports that prolonged exposure to "alarmingly high" toxic components is not safe.
"We shall be recommending the relocation of children, elderly, and pregnant women from the oil spill contaminated areas if repeated ambient air monitoring continues to be poor which may significantly affect their health condition," said Duque.
Duque said monitoring conducted by the Department of Health (DOH) last August 27 in three selected areas showed elements of bunker oil exceeded the minimal risk levels and that levels of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene and hydrogen sulfide were found to be high.
He said the physical effects of the oil slick may range from the milder skin irritation to severe and chronic cases such as cancers and leukemia.
So far, Duque said there is only one recorded casualty, a 26-year old male who died of myocardial infarction last August 16 while four others were hospitalized due to various oil spill-related diseases. (With reports from Sunnex and Kathy Villalon Cinco)
(August 30, 2006 issue)
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