MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) found diesel cargo in sunken MTKR Jason Bradley during its diving operations on Sunday, July 28, and said salvage operations for MTKR Jason Bradley will “commence soon.”
CG Rear Admiral Armando Balilo, spokesman of the PCG, said Coast Guard divers sealed the leaks found on the vessel.
The shipping company initially said that it had no cargo fuel onboard. However, the PCG found an unknown amount of diesel cargo on the vessel.
“The PCG response team is working on properly removing the diesel cargo with the help of a contracted salvor,” the PCG said, adding that it will conduct an investigation after recovering the cargo.
The oil tanker sank 9 meters deep off the waters of Barangay Cabcaben in Mariveles Bataan. It was found 600 yards away from the shore.
According to an initial report from the PCG, three 44-meter Coast Guard vessels were sent to respond to the incident at 5 pm on Saturday, July 27.
“As of press time, the shipping company is preparing the equipment needed for the salvage operations that will be completed in one to two weeks,” the PCG said in its initial statement on Sunday.
The MTKR Jason Bradley is the second oil tanker that sank off waters of Bataan within days.
MT Terranova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil, capsized and submerged off the waters of Bataan on July 25. The PCG is hoping that siphoning operations for the oil spill may be finished within a week. – Rappler.com
