PCG braces for oil spill as tugboat sinks off Zambales

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — Authorities on Tuesday deployed oil spill response personnel and equipment to prevent a possible diesel leak from a tugboat that sank off Barangay Bangan in Botolan, Zambales.

Carrying about 15,000 liters of diesel, SL Sual sank on Monday while emergency salvage operations were under way, days after it ran aground near the mouth of the Bucao River on Aug. 14.

Cmdr. Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Zambales, said additional personnel and equipment from the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Group in Manila had arrived in the area on Tuesday in preparation for a possible fuel spill.

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READ: Oil spill team deployed to sunken tugboat in Zambales

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“So in case there is a spill, we are prepared,” Diciano told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

READ: Tugboat that ran aground in Zambales sinks

No diesel leakage had been detected as of the latest assessment, he said.

An underwater survey was also attempted to assess the condition and location of the sunken tugboat, but poor weather and water conditions hampered the operation.

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Diciano said authorities were prioritizing the retrieval of the vessel to prevent it from becoming buried under sediment, which could make salvage operations more difficult.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has also conducted water sampling in the area. /cb