The oil spill from the Terra Nova tanker that capsized and sank in the Philippines last Thursday has spread far and wide, including entering the waters around the capital, Manila.
The oil slick is now stretching for more than 50 km with local media showing images of blackened seas along the southwest coast of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines.
Operations to contain the hard to plug ship have been made more tricky as a second, smaller tanker sank in nearby waters on Saturday with a small slick recorded around this second site.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has said that divers had sealed most of the Terra Nova’s leaking valves and are close to be able to start siphoning operations.
Terra Nova was carrying 1.4m litres of industrial fuel oil when it sank amid stormy weather off Bataan on July 25, killing a crewmember.
Around 300,000 liters of oil would be siphoned from the tanker over a period of around one week. It will be transferred to Helena Marie, the ship’s sister vessel.
Last year the Philippines was hit by an oil spill after the product tanker Princess Empress sank with 800,000 litres of industrial fuel onboard.
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