Guimaras oil spill site to be declared off limits to ships
During operations to offload oil from the sunken tanker Solar 1, vessels will not be allowed to pass nor fish anywhere within a one-kilometer radius around the site, authorities announced Wednesday.
Commander Eduardo Fabricante, deputy commander for the Philippine Coast Guard in Western Visayas, said that they will be issuing a “notice to mariners to alert and notify vessels which have some business along that route not to pass that area.”
“That area (where Solar 1 sunk) is very wide. Navigators are directed to take other routes,” Fabricante said during yesterday’s press briefing.
The area is considered navigable waters, although Fabricante is not certain whether it is being used as a sea lane or not.
Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela, a member of the Task Force Solar One Oil Spill, stressed that there will be “no passing, no fishing” within the one-kilometer radius from ground zero.
The restricted zone will be enforced throughout the offloading operations. Sonsub, the Italian deep sea construction services provider, will be conducting the oil recovery operations on Solar 1.
Its ship, Allied Shield, is scheduled to dock at the Bacolod Reclamation Port on March 14. It will steam for the oil spill site afterwards to start the oil recovery operation.
Robin Galleti of Sonsub estimates the offloading to last about 25 days, although it may take them sooner or longer, depending on the quantity of oil remaining in Solar 1’s ten cargo holds.
However, Coscolluela said that the restrictive zone will not cause any convenience to ships.
“The one-kilometer exclusion zone is a very small spot. It will constitute no problem to ships passing that route,” Coscolluela said.
The PCG will be bringing in two of its ships to enforce the restriction.
Coscolluela explained that they decided to implement the restriction to avoid disturbances or accidents during operations to recover the oil from the sunken tanker.
“No unauthorized ships will be allowed within the area during the operation,” he stressed, and this includes the media, he adds.
“The media is discouraged from using private vessels to gain coverage during the operation,” Coscolluela said.