CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday that the siphoning of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil cargo on board the Motor Tanker Terranova is targeted to be completed in 14 days.
The contracted, salvor Harbor Star, arrived on August 21, 2024 off the waters of Limay, Bataan, where the Motor Tanker Terranova sank on July 25, 2024 during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina.
The PCG said that the contracted salvor aims to siphon 200,000 liters of oil-seawater mixture daily from the sunken motor tanker.
PCG Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina reported that the BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) earlier conducted sea surface surveillance and monitoring.
He said authorities performed oil sampling at ground zero.
The 44-meter Coast Guard vessel sprayed dispersant and utilized water cannon to mitigate the presence of oil sheen and assessed the vicinity waters through drone aerial surveillance, Encina added.
The PCG official said that Harbor Star reported that approximately 47,000 liters of oil were collected, with a flow rate of 9,000 liters per hour, during the oil removal testing.
"With this development, the siphoning of 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil cargo on board [MT Terranova] is targeted to be completed in 14 days," the PCG said.