'Juan' worsens oil spill off Pagudpud waters

By Teddy Molina

PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte -- The fury of typhoon “Juan” has worsened the oil spill around a North Korean registered shipping vessel which ran aground along the shoreline of Barangay Balaoi in this tourist town last Jan. 1and is now posing serious threats to the marine environment.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said based on a report by the Philippine Coast Guard, the extent of the oil spill has been estimated at 400 meters and not three kilometers as reported in the media.

“There’s more oil coming out,” Marcos said.

The senator called on the Bureau of Customs and the local government in Pagudpud to stop its custody dispute on the ill-fated M/V Nam Yang 8 which ran aground off Pagudpud on its way to China from Aparri.

Marcos said the BOC should turn over the custody of the foreign vessel with North Korean registry to the local government which can use the proceeds from the sale of the vessel to clean the shorelines of Pagudpud.

“We’ve been looking at this issue for a long time,” said Marcos.

He added he discussed with Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras efforts to keep the oil spill at a manageable level.

The Philippine Coast Guard has also deployed a team to the area for clearing operations.

The vessel was loaded with 2,615 tons of magnetite and had some 160,000 liters of bunker fuel in its oil tanks when it was hit by giant waves and strong rains.

Marcos is concerned that neither the national nor local government units can bear the cost of continuously cleaning up shorelines.

“Now there is an ongoing battle as to who will salvage the ship,” Marcos said, adding the BOC has refused to give in to the request of the local government of Pagudpud led by Mayor Matilde Hanson Sales to have custody of the ill-fated ship.

This way, the local government can supervise the cleanup of the shorelines of Pagudpud, which has become a favorite tourist destination in the northern part of the country.

Sales, for her part, said they are set to declare a state of emergency in Pagudpud due to the continuing damage of the oil spill to the area.

Sales further said representatives from the Environment Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are on their way to Pagudpud to assess the extent of damage caused by the oil spill.

Reports from the local Philippine Coast Guard office indicated that oil is leaking from the vessel at a rate of 35 liters per hour.

This, as the Philippine Coast Guard secured and reinforced the anchor of M/V Nam Yang 8 to prevent any oil spill as Juan approached the province.

Capt. George Ursabia, PCG district commander in northern Luzon, informed the Philippine Information Agency that the vessel’s anchor cables had been strengthened to make the ship stable and prevent it from being dragged by the huge waves and strong winds.

Sales said local authorities are not allowed to board the ship as it is now under the custody of the Bureau of Customs, which had issued an abandonment order.

She said the oil spill has severely affected the townsfolk’s livelihood as they mostly depend on tourism and fishing.

“This is a big problem since the ship continues to spill oil,” she said.

The ship, reportedly loaded with 160 metric tons of bunker fuel, is said to be Korean-owned but no one has claimed it since its crew abandoned it.

There have been reports that the ship might have transported illegal aliens into the country or could have been used to smuggle illegal drugs.