MANILA – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced that the United States government contracted vessel Pacific Valkyrie had arrived at Subic Bay, Zambales to help in the ongoing oil spill containment operations in Oriental Mindoro.
The OCD said the ship, which arrived at the port at 7:12 a.m. Tuesday, is equipped with a submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can conduct a video and sonar survey of the sunken M/T Princess Empress.
"The ROV can take still photographs, and carry a payload of 150 lbs. (pounds). It has function manipulators capable of work at depth and auxiliary servos for hydraulic tool operations. It also has a salvage basket that can bear 4,000 lbs. The wreck survey will provide additional situational data on the shipwreck, which will assist in determining solutions to salvage the vessel and its content," the office said in a statement Tuesday night.
As this developed, Department of National Defense officer in charge and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) chair Carlito Galvez Jr. thanked the US government for this assistance, saying it would boost Philippine efforts to control and resolve this environmental emergency.
“Once all mandatory checks and preparations are completed, the Pacific Valkyrie, carrying an ROV team from the US, will head to Oriental Mindoro to check the current situation of the shipwreck and its fuel cargo. We will then use data gathered to determine the next appropriate course of action to control the oil leakage coming from its source," Galvez said.
Aside from the ROV, the US government is also sending 11,000 feet of 26-inch absorbent harbor boom, which will be used to control the spread of oil and allow easy recovery.
Personal protective equipment, other support equipment, vehicles, and vessels, as well as experts from the US Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and US Navy will also be deployed.
“We welcome this assistance coming from our US counterparts. We are confident that this initiative would greatly help our assessment efforts, thereby enabling us to implement the most effective containment and cleanup strategy,” NDRRMC executive director and OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said.
Inter-agency cleanup activities are being done across the most affected coastal areas, together with initiatives from the national and local governments, non-government organizations (NGOs), communities, and private entities.
A total of 10,206 liters of oil-mixed water and 72,643 kg. of oil-contaminated debris had been collected in these cleanup operations.
Meanwhile, more than 36,000 families had been affected by the environmental emergency.
A total of PHP142.9 million worth of assistance had been provided by various government agencies and NGOs.
This includes financial assistance, family food packs, hygiene kits, and other non-food items.
“As we speak, the coordination between various government agencies continues and the conduct of cleanup operations in the coastal areas of the three most-affected regions are in full gear," Nepomuceno said.
The M/T Princess Empress, which carried 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, sank on Feb. 28 off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. (PNA)
