The Dynamic Support Vessel (DSV) that will extract the remaining oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress has arrived in the country to finish the last phase of the cleanup, officials said on Saturday.
The DSV Fire Opal, which arrived at the Riviera Pier in Subic Bay Freeport Zone last Friday, will extract and transfer oily waste to a tanker then dispose of the collected oil. Officials said the siphoning operations may last up to 30 days.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said they expect to finish the extraction in 20 to 30 days. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier expressed his hope that the cleanup will be done in under four months.
In a separate report, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said the last phase will last for a month. “The operations will last for 20 to 30 days, if weather conditions are favorable, meaning the remaining oil from the sunken vessel will be retrieved.”
The vessel is scheduled to sail from Subic on the night of May 28 and is expected to arrive in Batangas the following day. It will then proceed to the designated mission area.
The DSV was chartered by the Malayan Towage & Salvage Corporation and contracted by the Protection & Indemnity Insurance Club (P&I).
In an update to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier this month, Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. reported that, of the 74.71 kilometers of affected coastline, 62.95 kilometers, or 84.26 percent, has already been cleaned up as of May 10, 2023.
Galvez said the OCD recorded a total of 6,801 liters of oil waste and 300,603.60 liters of oil-contaminated waste that have been collected through the efforts of various agencies and organizations.
In March, Japanese salvage vessel Shin Nichi Maru, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), arrived at the port of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro and was immediately deployed to the mission area to help in the cleanup efforts.
The MT Princess Empress was reported to contain around 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it ran aground in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28 due to engine trouble and eventually sank the following day. (PND)
