LIST: Major oil spills in the Philippines
Oil spills not only pose harm to the environment, but also affect the health of persons exposed to them
Editor’s Note: This list was first published on March 6, 2023. We are republishing it with updated and additional information in the light of the latest oil spill incident in Bataan on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has experienced several significant oil spills that have caused extensive environmental damage across the country.
In 2023, damage from oil spills reached P4.93 billion, according to a March 2024 report by the Philippine Statistics Authority. They also produced health risks, especially to those living in coastal areas.
On Thursday, July 25, tanker MT Terra Nova with 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil capsized and submerged off the waters in Bataan. Authorities were determining the gravity of this recent incident.
This is not the first oil spill in the country. What were major spills in the past and what were the responses to them?
1999 – Manila Bay oil spill
On March 19, 1999, oil tanker Sea Brothers I capsized and sank after hitting a breakwater, or a wall that absorbs big waves, in Manila Bay.
Approximately 85 tonnes of bunker fuel leaked into the bay. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) led efforts to clean up the spill using chemical dispersants.
Divers sealed the vessel’s leaks and it was refloated a month later on April 19, 1999.
2001 – Cavite oil spill
An oil pipeline in Carmona, Cavite burst, affecting a six-kilometer stretch of the Carmona River, which threatened to spill over into Laguna Bay.
What was named the National Disaster Coordinating Council then made use of oil spill containment booms, or barriers that slow down and contain oil spills, to block the flow towards the bay.
2005 – Semirara oil spill
A power barge, or a floating power plant, ran aground in the vicinity of Semirara Island on December 18, 2005.
The barge’s fuel tanks leaked 235,000 liters of bunker fuel and affected around 100 hectares of mangrove forests on the island.
Chemical dispersions and manual cleanups were completed sometime in 2006, according to a Philstar report. Rehabilitation costs were estimated to be around $2 million.
2006 – Guimaras oil spill
M/V Solar I was carrying 2.4 million liters of oil to Mindanao when a storm caused the tanker to capsize near the Guimaras coast.
Only 9,000 liters were recovered from the vessel, meaning that the rest of the cargo had leaked out. 16 square kilometers of coral, 551 hectares of mangrove, 58 hectares of seaweed, and 824 hectares of fishponds were affected by the spill.
The cleanup posed a different challenge, as not only did the oil spill in the waters, but it also made its way to land. This was widely considered to be the worst oil spill in Philippine history. (READ: 8/11, One Year After)
2013 – Cebu and Manila Bay oil spills
500,000 liters of oil spilled in Manila Bay on August 9, 2013. 12 coastal barangays in Cavite were affected. The oil tanker MK Makisig was suspected to have caused the spill.
PCG personnel opted to let the fuel evaporate than use chemical dispersants that could further poison the water.
The ferry ship MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided with a cargo ship Sulpicio Express 7 on August 16, 2013.
Approximately 160,000 liters of different oils leaked from the ferry ship and affected 5,000 hectares of mangroves. 91 were reported dead and 43 were reported missing from the accident, according to a GMA news report.
2013 and 2020 – Iloilo oil spills
There were two separate oil spill incidents in the province of Iloilo.
During the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013, 850,000 liters of bunker fuel spilled from a Napocor power barge in Estancia Town, Iloilo. Mangroves up to 10 kilometers downstream were affected by the spill.
On July 3, 2020, an explosion at a power barge in Iloilo City spilled 48,000 liters of oil, affecting an area of 1,200 square meters. Oil booms were deployed to contain the spread.
Exposure to oil spills has adverse effects on health, including liver and brain damage as well as respiratory and renal problems. Spills can also contaminate food sources, poisoning the fragile food chain that includes food sources for humans.
2023 – Oriental Mindoro oil spill
A tanker M/T Princess Empress carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel capsized off the coast of Naujan in Oriental Mindoro on February 28, 2023, causing a massive oil spill off Mindoro island which spread to parts of Palawan and Antique.
It took four months to finish the clean-up and plug the oil leak, but only after most of the black oil had already wrought havoc on the environment and disrupted the livelihood of affected coastal communities.
In February 2024, Department of Justice prosecutors recommended the filing of criminal charges against individuals involved in the spill, including the owners and corporate officers of M/T Princess Empress. – with research by Laurice Angeles, Jodesz Gavilan/Rappler.com