Solar 1 wreck site now off limits to ships
Ships will no longer be allowed to pass in the vicinity of the wreck site of Solar 1 off the coast of Guimaras, the Philippine Coast Guard ordered.
The PCG also created a Special Task Force (STF) dealing with the offloading operations on the sunken oil tanker.
In a press statement sent to The News Today, the STF Solar 1 said that security vessel BRP Nueva Viscaya (AU 3502) "...is constantly patrolling the Sonsub operational site to prevent intrusion of watercraft in the vicinity of the one-kilometer radius exclusion zone."
Allied Shield, the oil recovery vessel hired by the undersea construction service provider Sonsub, hopes to finish drilling into compartment no. 4 on the Solar 1's starboard side.
It is not clear, however, whether or not Allied Shield had already begun offloading the remaining oil from the tanker. Solar 1 was carrying two million liters of bunker fuel when it sank August last year.
Two tugboats are on the site assisting the Allied Shield.
Several more, including an aircraft, are on stand by in the event of another oil spill during the recovery operations.
The PCG formed the STF last March 9, which is headed by Commodore Arturo Olavario of the Marine Environmental Protection Command, as an integrated response mechanism to ensure the success of the oil recovery operation and mitigation measures in the event of oil spill during the offloading.