MANILA: Divers have noticed "minimal" oil leaks from a Philippine tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel that sank in Manila Bay on Thursday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday.
PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said divers inspected the tanker MT Terra Nova on the sea floor and saw oil leaking from the valves, Xinhua news agency reported.
"There were minimal leaks from the valves, but as observed, the leaks are not alarming yet," Balilo said at an online press conference, adding that the leaks are still "manageable" at this point.
"There is no cause for alarm. Unlike the oil spill in 2023, this one is small and manageable," Balilo said, referring to the massive oil spill from the MT Princess Empress carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil that sank off Mindoro province last year.
The PCG has been checking the number of valves and the quantity of oil that has leaked so far. The agency said it hopes to start siphoning fuel oil from the tanker on Sunday and that the extraction will take at least seven days.
"One thing is sure: the fuel cargo tanks are still intact," Balilo said, adding that the PCG has deployed oil spill booms and sprayed dispersant in areas with oil slicks.
The tanker would eventually be removed from the area due to the danger it poses to vessels and fishing boats passing the maritime route, according to Balilo.