Officials announced on Thursday that at least seven coastal towns in the Philippines have prohibited fishing and swimming due to oil leakage from a sunken tanker. The MT Princess Empress was carrying about 800,000 liters (210,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil and 20 crew members when it sank on Tuesday after experiencing engine overheating while heading towards central Iloilo province. The Philippine coast guard confirmed that a foreign cargo ship rescued the crew and took them ashore. The spill affected an area of about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide off Naujan town by Wednesday. A provincial disaster response officer said that the spill had spread to six other southern towns, where swimming and fishing up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the coast are indefinitely banned. The leak has also endangered 14 government-protected marine areas off-limits to fishing to encourage spawning. Seawater samples have been contaminated by industrial fuel oil, indicating that the tanker was leaking more than just engine fuel. Although it is hard to estimate how much oil has leaked, officials are using oil spill booms and chemical oil dispersants to protect the most vulnerable coastal villages, while Environmental Department personnel are helping in coastal cleanups to minimize the damage.
Swimming banned due to oil spill from sunken Philippine tanker.
