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A task force which was formed to remove a barge causing a coal spill, 200 meters from the shorelines of Barangay Lingsat here is experiencing difficulties in its extraction from the marine sanctuary where it ran aground.
Valmar Valdez, city environment officer, said that a tug boat, equipped with a crane from Lingayen, Pangasinan proved futile in the rescue operation despite the gradual lightening of the trapped barge by manual unloading of at least 3,000 of the estimated 9,607 metric tons of coal on the barge.
Valdez expressed apprehension in the conclusion of the retrieval operation in its soonest possible time before the arrival of another tropical storm.
“Worse is that, it (typhoon) may further cause damages not only to said barge and underwater ecosystem but also cause danger to life and property of coastal residents in the area,” Valdez explained.
Task Force Kabayan, clean up divers formed by Mayor Pablo Ortega reported that balls of coal of at least 1,000 metric tons have already covered the sea grass beds and corals which were dropped in the area.
The retrieval operation is now on going on its second week
The boat, B/Nava Ratna 3, departed Souh Kalmantan Port, Indonesia last Oct. 19. Its barge ran aground while towing it during the height of typhoon Kabayan last Nov. 6, when strong winds and waves carried it from the vicinity of Poro Point Pier.
Valdez added that if the barge cannot be forcibly tug or yank even at high tide due to damages, it will further cause damage on the ship’s hull or the underlying live corals.
Task Force members initially planned to employ manual method, unloading the cargo carried by men through sacks.
City Councilor Francisco Kit Ortega, Jr., an ex-officio La Union Board Member, has also initiated to probe the incident that would summon representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Coast Guard, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Holcim Cement and Sea Pine Shipping Corporation, coal owner and barge transporter, respectively, in the Board’s next session, Thursday.
Ortega said no charges were filed against the transporter of the Indonesian barge and Holcim because they have promised to help in the cleaning of the spillage and the rehabilitation of the affected area.
Task Force Nava Ratna 3, consisting of the Philippine Coast Guard, the City Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine National Police, Lingsat Barangay Council, Shippine Line and Holcim Phils., was formed as a crisis committee formed to conduct the retrieval operation.
Last November 13, 2007, a third meeting of the TF convened but representatives of the North Gulf Shipping Service, assigned to brief the TF on the method of putting its anchor, methods of unloading, safety measures, and the duration of the operation, failed to arrive. The TF is still working round the clock to determine the cause of the incident, the damage in the area and to determine who is responsible in the rehabilitation of the damaged marine protected area. |
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