Japan dispatches team to help contain Mindoro oil spill

The envoy said the team will be composed of oil control experts from the Japan Coast Guard. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – The Japanese government is sending a disaster relief team to help the Philippines contain a rapidly spreading oil spill in Oriental Mindoro province, the Japanese Embassy in Manila confirmed Wednesday.

“In coordination with the Philippine government, Japan will send a Disaster Relief Expert Team on oil removal and control to support on-going efforts in response to the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro,” Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said.

“We are one with you in these trying times,” he added.

The envoy said the team will be composed of oil control experts from the Japan Coast Guard.

The MT Princess Empress sank off the coast of Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro last Feb. 28 causing its load of 800,000 liters of industrial oil to spill into the sea.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute had estimated that around 20,000 hectares of coral reef, 9,900 ha of mangroves and 6,000 ha of seagrass may be affected by the oil slick.

The institute projects the spill to get closer to the northern Palawan mainland in about a week’s time.

The Department of Tourism earlier said the slick has already hit several Marine Protected Areas in the municipality of Pola in Oriental Mindoro, such as the KingFisher Reserve, St. John the Baptist Marine Sanctuary, Song of the Sea Fish Sanctuary, Stella Mariz Fish Sanctuary, Bacawan Fish Sanctuary, St. Peter the Rock Fish Sanctuary, and the San Isidro Labrador Fish Sanctuary.