US team arrives to assist in Bataan oil spill recovery ops

US ASSISTANCE. Members of the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrive in Bataan province on Tuesday (Aug. 6, 2024). They will provide technical assistance on the oil spill recovery operations involving three sunken vessels. (Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/Facebook)

By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Teams from the United States (US) Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arrived in Bataan province on Tuesday to assist in oil spill recovery efforts.

In a situation report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the USCG and NOAA teams are composed of eight members who will provide technical assistance.

The USCG and NOAA will communicate with the PCG Incident Management Team regarding recovery operations on three maritime incidents involving MTKR Terranova, MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1.

Last week, the PCG reported that oil recovery has begun MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1 with the deployment of oil spill booms and the use of water cannons to help disperse spilled oil.

On the other hand, MTKR Terranova has been secured with capping bags on all of its valves and high-level alarm pipes, in addition to two layers of oil spill booms placed around the sunken vessel.

MTKR Terranova will be secured with metal caps this week before recovery begins next week on its cargo of 1.4 million liters of oil.