‘Minimal’ oil sheen seen around half-sunken ship off Manila: PCG

MANILA – Waters surrounding MV Palawan Pearl, the half-sunk vessel off Baseco Beach after a ship collision on Thursday, are showing “minimal traces of oil sheen”, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Friday.

In a Facebook post, the PCG said the Marine Environmental Protection (MEP) group of the PCG Station Manila continues to monitor the status of the distressed vessel located about 100 meters from the Baseco beach shoreline.

“They also fixed the displaced segments of oil spill boom to effectively collect oil in thick surface layers for easy recovery, thereby reducing the possibility of marine pollution,” the PCG said.

Based on initial investigation, MV Palawan Pearl (345 GT) was traveling from the Commander’s Wharf at the Baseco Compound towards El Nido, Palawan while Cyprus-flagged utility ship BKM 104 (375 GT) was headed towards the Manila Bay Anchorage area and Bulacan when the incident occurred.

Based on witness accounts, it said MV Palawan Pearl was sailing at around 7 knots and was three kilometers from the mouth of Pasig River when it noticed BKM 104 around 100 meters away from its port (left) side and was sailing at 10 knots.

“Agad na nagmaneobra ang MV PALAWAN PEARL para iwasan ang BKM 104, pero dalawang beses ito bumangga sa kaliwang bahagi ng cargo vessel kaya naman halos lumubog ito sa tubig (The MV Palawan Pearl immediately attempted to evade BKM 104, but it was hit twice on its left side, causing the vessel to almost sink),” the PCG said.

It said that BKM 104 only sustained minimal paint damage, while no injuries were reported from both ships.

“Patuloy ang pakikipag-koordinasyon ng PCG sa dalawang sasakyang pandagat, lalo na sa BKM 104, para malaman ang bilang ng mga tripulante nito. Ayon sa MV Palawan Pearl, 18 marino ang sakay ng kanilang barko, kabilang ang kapitan nito (The PCG continues its coordination with both vessels, especially with BKM 104, to find out the number of its crew. According to the MV Palawan Pearl, they were carrying 18 seafarers including its captain),” the PCG said.