The Bataan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said Sunday no more slicks were monitored on the province’s coast following the sinking of two motor tankers and the grounding of a vessel.

In an interview with dzBB, PDRRMO head Arvin Catipon said the placing of oil spill booms in the waters of Bataan greatly helped prevent the spread of the oil slick.

“In our coastal line monitoring here in the province, we have not monitored any oil sheen and oil slick. It did not reach the coast because the spread containment and the source containment at ground zero were successful,” Catipon said.

“What we can see is just the oil sheen. The oil sheen is very thin and will dissipate by itself. But even if the oil sheen dissipates by itself, we still have vessels of the Coast Guard and the salvor companies that are guarding and monitoring them to keep them from spreading,” he added.

Catipon said the Bataan provincial government is continuing its preparations for the siphoning operations of oil in motor tankers Terranova in Limay and Jason Bradley in Mariveles.

“We are already at the stage of the finalization of the updated plan, but the metal capping operation was successful. The placing of metal caps ensures that the caps will not immediately get destroyed or that the valves are more securely sealed,” he said.

“It’s an added safety measure to make sure that when the siphoning operation starts, there won’t be any problems and we can focus on siphoning,” he said.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) earlier said that Terranova was carrying 4.1 million liters of fuel when it capsized, while Jason Bradley had no cargo fuel but had 5,500 liters of fuel.

Meanwhile, MV Mirola 1 had no operational fuel but was carrying two drums of oil when it was grounded in Bataan.

Catipon said that the provincial government is also studying the legal actions it can take against the owner of MT Terranova.

According to Catipon, they have coordinated with the Department of Transportation (DoTr) Maritime Group and the insurance company of MT Terra Nova for the processing of claims of Bataan residents who were affected by the oil spill.

“The insurance team will do an assessment. They said, just like what happened during the Princess Empress incident before, they would either give the full or actual amount of their salary or a slightly lower amount,” Catipon said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS