Philippines to deploy underwater vehicle in rush to locate sunken tanker

Philippine authorities believe they have found the location of a tanker that sank off a central province last week, as they raced to assess the extent of an oil spill that has prompted a fishing ban, and to contain further environmental damage.

The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet (366 metres) below sea level, off Oriental Mindoro province, though the information still needed to be verified, the environment ministry said in a statement on Monday.

A remotely-operated autonomous vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker, it said.

Authorities want to know how much oil is inside and how to pump the remainder out and stop any leaks, experts said.

The vessel was carrying about 800,000 litres (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it suffered engine trouble on February 28 in rough seas, according to the coast guard.

It was not immediately clear what caused the Philippine-flagged vessel to sink but all 20 crew members were rescued before it went down.

Spilt oil had been detected on the shore and in coastal waters near the site where the vessel is thought to have sunk, forcing the government to declare a state of calamity in nine towns in Oriental Mindoro. This means emergency funds can be channelled directly to affected communities, including those hit by the fishing ban imposed by authorities during the cleanup

“When I catch fish, my everyday earnings go to my children and to the food that we eat. It is a very big problem that this oil spill happened,” said 55-year-old fisherman Florante Favroa.

“It is a very huge loss for us, we have no more resources,” he said.

Swimming has also been banned in affected areas, with the tourism ministry expressing concern that the oil spill could affect three of the country's world-class dive destinations like the Verde Island passage and Apo Reef in Mindoro, and the World War 2 Wrecks in Palawan.

About 36,000 hectares (88,958 acres) of coral reef, mangroves and seagrass were potentially in danger of being affected by the oil slick, according to marine scientists at the University of the Philippines.

“Let me assure you, the damage done directly on the environment and on our people's livelihood will be given corresponding compensation depending on what is stipulated in the compensation guidelines,” Dolor told a media briefing.