Expert calls for improved technology for oil spill response

An expert on Wednesday pushed for improved technology to address oil spills. 

“Iyong technology kailangan pa nating i-improve kasi nga po may mga limitasyon, kasi nga iba-ibang klase ng oil,” said Hernando Bacosa, a professor at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology and the Department of Science and Technology's lead expert on oil spill, in a public briefing.

(We need to improve our technology because it has limitations in responding to different types of oil.)

Bacosa was referring to foam technology CocoFlexSorb, which is said to have the ability to absorb different types of oils, such as light, vegetable, kerosene, engine, and bunker oil.

However, the DOST said further testing and development needed to be done before the technology, developed by researchers from MSU-IIT, could be adopted and commercialized. 

“I think kailangan pa rin nating mag-develop noong mga material na gawa sa Pilipinas na magagamit natin kapag may darating na naman na oil spill,” he added.

(We need to develop materials that are made in the Philippines that can be used in future oil spill incidents.)

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, meanwhile, lists oil spill booms and skimmers as two of the means used to contain oil spills.

Three vessels have been reported to be leaking environmentally harmful material off Bataan.

A motor vessel (MV) ran aground near the shore of Mariveles town on Wednesday.

Authorities discovered that oil from the tanks of MV Mirola 1 was spilling into the sea.

Three days prior, motor tanker (MT) Jason Bradley was discovered leaking diesel off the town's coast.

On July 25, a tanker sank off Limay town in Bataan amid heavy rains and rough seas, causing another oil spill.

The Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) salvage team was able to control the leakage of 1.4 million liters of industrial oil from the sunken MT Terranova. 

According to Bacosa, the oil spill in Limay is easier to manage because MT Terranova is only 30 meters deep, as opposed to MT Princess Empress, which was found 400 meters deep in Oriental Mindoro in 2023.

“Ngayon it is under control, but still, nandun pa yung barko. Hanggat di natatanggal ang langis dun, meron pa rin threat sa ating environment. Dapat matanggal, siphone lahat ng langis,” Bacosa said.

(The vessel remains, but the oil slick is now under control. The threat to our environment remains because of the oil. You need to siphon off the oil.)

The provincial government of Cavite has declared a state of calamity in eight towns affected by the oil spill from MT Terranova. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/VBL, GMA Integrated News