Siphoning of sunken tanker completed

The siphoning of oil from the sunken MT Terranova was finished on Friday with an oil recovery rate of 97.43 percent, almost two months after the local oil tanker sank off the coast of Bataan province, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The PCG said the contracted salvor, Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., reported that it collected 1,415,954 liters of oil and an additional 17,725 kilograms of solid oily waste. Harbor Star explained that “the remaining 37,867 liters, accounting for 2.57 percent of the total oil cargo, were lost due to various factors such as biodegradation, dissipation, absorption by sorbent booms and unpumpable sludge left in the tanks.”

The recovered oil amounted to about 1.3 million liters of the original cargo, costing more than P100 million. Terranova, owned by Shogun Ships Co. Inc., capsized on July 25 in rough waters about 7 kilometers east of Limay town in Bataan province, leaving one of the 17 crew dead. —NESTOR CORRALES