Coast Guard starts oil recovery operations for MV Mirola 1

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard started on Thursday, August 1, oil recovery operations of the MV Mirola 1, the vessel which ran aground in Mariveles, Bataan.

PCG personnel were manually scooping out the oil inside the vessel. They would then bring the recovered oil in a waste disposal facility to avoid posing health risks to residents.

The said vessel ran aground on Wednesday, July 31, in the vicinity waters of Sitio Quiapo, Barangay Biaan in Mariveles.

A team from the PCG and Bataan’s provincial disaster risk reduction and management office observed “minimal oil sheens and light smell of diesel oil” in the area. The team took water samples for analysis.

MV Mirola 1 is the third vessel to run into trouble in the waters of Bataan, after MT Terranova and MKTR Jason Bradley sank in the past week.

Last week, MT Terranova capsized and submerged off Limay, Bataan. En route to Iloilo, it was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil. The PCG has yet to start siphoning of oil as sealing of valves was still ongoing. – Rappler.com