Panayam kay Lt. Cdr. Michael John Encina ng PCG Bataan Station ukol sa full-operation na siphoning ng industrial fuel mula sa tumaob na MT Terranova
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00:00Siphoning of industrial fuel from Mt. Terra Nova in Bataan,
00:04we will find out with Lt. Cmdr. Michael John Encina,
00:08Commander of the Philippine Cruise Guard in Bataan Station.
00:11Lt. Cmdr. Encina, good afternoon and welcome to the new Philippines.
00:16Yes, hello ma'am, good afternoon.
00:20Sir, based on the report, the oil siphoning from Mt. Terra Nova in Bataan is already in full operation.
00:27For the benefit of our countrymen,
00:29what is our primary objective for this and how critical is this process?
00:35Well, in our current siphoning procedure,
00:40our primary objective here, ma'am, is
00:44number one, is to prevent oil leaks.
00:48Because we prepared hot topping for 8 COTs or what we call cargo oil tanks.
00:56So that's number one.
00:57Number two, is to maintain what we call the oil flow,
01:03or the flow of oil while it is being siphoned.
01:08So for now, we have 6,500 liters of oil rate or per hour that we get oil.
01:18So this is a mixture of seawater and oil.
01:22So now, we have observed that the Coast Guard, Salvoor, Harbor Star and Malayan Towage are continuing to do this.
01:32This is part of our containment effort here in Ground Zero.
01:37So for the siphoning, our intention here is to remove all contaminants.
01:42Meaning, this is the IFO, 1.4 million liters of oil in the sinking of Mt. Terra Nova.
01:51Sir, what is the process of your assessment for your siphoning operations?
02:00Well, our procedure for conducting hot topping is very careful and strict.
02:08Because our first step here is to conduct hot topping procedure.
02:14This is where we place the pipes in the cargo oil tanks.
02:20So we make holes there. This is the most critical.
02:24Our approach is scientific. Experts studied this.
02:29The US Coast Guard helped us in studying the actual pressure that should be applied while we are conducting siphoning.
02:41So all our data is there.
02:44At the moment, we do not see any oil leaks in the holes or in the hot topping that we prepared.
02:52The flow of oil is continuous in siphoning.
02:57Sir, how many liters do you expect to get from this operation?
03:02How long will this process last?
03:05Well, in terms of liters, we started our testing of equipment from 19 August until yesterday.
03:14We were able to collect 81,000 liters of oil waste coming from here to Motor Tanker Terra Nova.
03:23As to the timeline, it varies.
03:27So it depends. There are variables that we are looking at here.
03:31Our sea conditions, including the current under the sea and our weather condition as well, we also take into consideration.
03:40Our timeline is there. We are continuously doing siphoning here.
03:48What is important and what we can see is that what the Philippine Coast Guard and SALPOR will focus on
03:56is the adverse effect that can be caused if we rush in the siphoning procedure.
04:04In your studies, what are the challenges associated with the siphoning of this industrial fuel?
04:13And please explain the environmental risk if this operation will not be successful.
04:20Well, our challenges, number one, are the variables that are uncontrollable, like the weather condition.
04:31So our sea condition as well.
04:33So if there is a squall, this is the sudden bad weather of our ocean, we stop the siphoning process.
04:42We immediately secure our siphoning lines so we can avoid the removal of this.
04:50These are the challenges we are seeing.
04:53As to the procedures, equipment, everything is there.
04:57We are blaming the organization of the OCD, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council,
05:05where they helped us with the equipment to make it easier and faster.
05:12These are the equipment that we are using, our booster pumps to make the siphoning stronger,
05:18our so-called current buster fork, where it is already on standby in case of the worst-case scenario,
05:26we will immediately fetch the oil from the sea.
05:32These are the technologies that we brought to ground zero,
05:36and we were helped by our government agencies.
05:40We are thankful for the rapid action of the concerned agencies to bring this to our ground zero.
05:48The worst-case scenario that we are calling for, if it happens, it will have a big impact,
05:54not only on our environment or our ocean, but as well as the economic impact that we are looking at.
06:02That is what we are preparing for.
06:05That's why our Philippine Coast Guard has already raised a Tier 3 response, oil spill response.
06:12It means that the approach of the TCG will be nationwide.
06:18So the equipment that we will be using nationwide,
06:21we have already circulated to concentrate on the preparation and retrieval of Motor Tanker Terra Nova.
06:30So sir, it was also reported that there was an initial or test siphoning.
06:35How many liters did you get from the siphoning,
06:38and can the TCG ensure that this process will be successful?
06:43Do you have a target date, given the situation in the sea and weather?
06:48What is your target date?
06:50Well, the initial information that Arborstar or our salvor gave us,
06:58they gave us working days of two weeks, the siphoning.
07:03But as we can see, there are like what I've said, the challenges,
07:09the impact, the current, the sea condition and the weather condition as well.
07:14So this will be extended most probably.
07:17But as to the effect of the siphoning on the procedure being done by the Philippine Coast Guard,
07:28we at the Coast Guard have deployed ships where our Coast Guard divers are.
07:33These are the ones who are checking what the divers of Arborstar are doing.
07:39They are checking if what they are reporting at the same time
07:42and what they are doing underwater is not causing leakage.
07:46So these are our countermeasures so that we can be more certain
07:50that the adverse effect that we want to avoid will not happen.
07:55So what can our affected countrymen expect from this oil spill incident?
08:02Once the siphoning operations are successful,
08:06will our fishermen be able to go far once it is over?
08:13With respect to that aspect ma'am, we have a specific government agency for fishing.
08:20Our Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is there.
08:23They are the ones who provide data on whether our seafood is safe.
08:29Our DILG, through our LGU, is the one who announces through coordination to our BFAR
08:37if our fisheries are safe and if they can eat and they can leave their so-called fishing ban.
08:47For us, the good thing about this is that the President's directive is a whole-nation approach.
08:57It's not just the Philippine Coast Guard or OCD.
09:00We have different departments of our government.
09:04There is the DSWD that has provided assistance to the reported affected when we had fishing bans.
09:13There is also our DOST, DNR particularly, DILG, our DND or OCD National.
09:22We are working together to provide assistance to our affected countrymen and our government.
09:33Our approach here is a whole-nation approach.
09:37We at the Coast Guard will continue to monitor and avoid the worst-case scenario.
09:45As a matter of fact, aside from the motor tanker Terra Nova,
09:49we still have two maritime incidents that are being responded to by our Coast Guard.
09:54The good news is that one ship that was wrecked here in Biaan, Maribeles, Bataan,
10:00we have already rescued it and we are preparing for towing operations
10:06to bring it to a safer location where it can be fixed.
10:10We have already started the so-called repair of this ship.
10:18Here in Jason Bradley, we will continue to replace it so that we can remove these ships.
10:26Sir, please send a message to our countrymen who are concerned about us,
10:30especially those fishermen who want to go around that area.
10:35Well, our message is that we will continue to consult with our local government units
10:43and we will monitor the current status of our fishermen in our respective areas.
10:51Particularly, our Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will also be conducting their respective sets.
10:57The BFAR in our LGU always has a lateral coordination
11:02for our fishermen who are affected if they can go around that area.
11:07We in the Philippine Coast Guard will continue our maritime, marine environmental protection measures
11:15on the wrecked motor tanker Terra Nova and two other maritime incidents.
11:20So far, the PCG is on top of the situation.
11:24We were able to stop the so-called oil spill and we will continue to use our oil spill measures
11:33to stop these incidents.
11:36Thank you very much and have a good afternoon.
11:38Okay. Thank you very much for your time Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina,
11:43Commander of the Philippine Coast Guard in Bataan Station.