The dynamic support vessel Fire Opal has arrived in the Philippines to extract the remaining oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress for about a month, officials said Saturday.
Malacañang said DSV Fire Opal arrived at the Riviera Pier in Subic Bay Freeport Zone last Friday to extract and transfer oily waste from MT Princess Empress to a tanker for proper disposal.
“The operations will last for 20 to 30 days, if weather conditions are favorable, meaning the remaining oil from the sunken vessel will be retrieved,” Office of Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said in a separate statement.
The ship is scheduled to depart from Subic on the evening of 28 May and is expected to reach Batangas the next day. It will then proceed to the designated area for its mission.
The Malayan Towage & Salvage Corporation chartered the DSV, which was contracted by the Protection & Indemnity Insurance Club or P&I.
In an update given to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said 62.95 kilometers, or 84.26 percent, of the affected coastline, had already been cleaned up out of a total of 74.71 kilometers as of 10 May 2023.
According to Galvez, various agencies and organizations have collected 6,801 liters of oil waste and 300,603.60 liters of oil-contaminated waste.
In March, the Japanese salvage vessel Shin Nichi Maru, equipped with a remotely-operated vehicle, was deployed to assist in the cleanup efforts.
The MT Princess Empress ran aground in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on 28 February due to engine trouble.
It sank the following day with a reported 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil on board owned by a San Miguel subsidiary.
Environmentalists have since then pressed the ship owner and San Miguel to pay for the environmental damage after the ship was found to have operated without a Certificate of Convenience.