Contamination feared after coal spill in waters off Sorsogon City
STA. MAGDALENA, SORSOGON—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Bicol feared the possible contamination of the waters off Sorsogon City after a barge that was carrying an unspecified amount of coal capsized in the area during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami) last week.
Rowena Briones, spokesperson of BFAR Bicol, said the heavy metal components of coal could cause damage to the coral reefs and marine life in the sea off the city, the provincial capital of Sorsogon.
“The coal has harmful effects to the marine environment and there’s a possibility of contamination because of its heavy metal components [that could cause] habitat disruption due to suffocation of coral reefs and reduction of oxygen levels,” Briones said in a phone interview on Saturday.
She said they were still investigating whether the barge was equipped with a small engine and assessing the possibility of an oil spill.
But in a statement on Saturday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Sorsogon assured there would not be an oil spill as the barge only carried coal when it was carried off the sea at the height of the storm.
Dragged
The PCG-Sorsogon said they instead received complaints from fisherfolk about the coal spill in affected marine areas.
The barge, which came from Antique province, was anchored in the sea off Barangay Buenavista of Sorsogon City when, at around 9 p.m. of Oct. 22, it was dragged by the strong winds and tide into the coast of Barangay Talisay, where it began tilting on Oct. 23 and eventually capsized, spilling its coal cargo into the sea. As of Saturday, the capsized barge was in the vicinity of Barangay Bucalbucalan, some 2.28 nautical miles from the village’s fish port, the PCG said.
The Coast Guard said they have been constantly coordinating with the concerned agencies as they have yet to craft plans on how to remove the barge from the sea.
It added that the shipowner, whose identity was not disclosed, was also coordinating with the authorities.
The volume of coal that was loaded in the barge have yet to be revealed.
Arles Janaban, the village chief of Pamurayan, a neighboring village of Talisay, appealed to the government to act immediately and address the incident’s harmful effects on their fishing ground.
Janaban, in a phone interview on Saturday, said most fishers in their village have yet to resume fishing, as their cages were damaged by the storm.
He said the crabs, catfish and shellfish caught in the cages were found to have died or dying. They have asked the city agriculture office on Friday for a laboratory test to check the cause of the fish kill.
“This is another big concern, especially after Kristine hit us, resulting in the death of seashells and fishes. Until now, there’s no result on the root cause, and yet we are already facing another problem. We hope this is taken care of promptly to alleviate the suffering of the fishermen in our barangay,” Janaban added.
