Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on July 28 reported that a second oil tanker had sunk off Bataan province, west of Manila.
PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the oil tanker MTKR Jason Bradley sank off Mariveles town around 5 p.m. local time on July 27, adding three coast guard vessels went to the accident site and confirmed the sunken vessel's presence.
The team confirmed the presence of an oil slick and oil sheen in the area. Salvage operations are expected to last one or two weeks.
Balilo said that the siphoning of the industrial fuel oil from the Philippine tanker that sank on July 25 off Limay town in Bataan province will be delayed as divers are trying to seal the leaking valves of nine tanks aboard the tanker. He said the divers are expected to finish sealing the nine leaking valves on July 29 so that the siphoning can proceed on the next day.
The spokesperson said a minimal amount of oil sheen from the first sunken tanker had reached the waters off Hagonoy town in Bulacan province. However, he reiterated that the amount of oil spills remains manageable./.
Philippines races to contain oil spill after tanker capsizes in Manila
Philippine authorities are racing against time to contain an oil spill following the capsizing of a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil off the coast of Manila Bay on the morning of July 25.
