Oil Tanker Sinks off the Philippines

[Turbineguy]

Oil Tanker Sinks off the Philippines, Severe Environmental Damage Feared
An oil tanker that sank in heavy seas late last Friday is leaking cargo off the central Philippine island of Guimaras. The vessel, SOLAR 1, was said to be carrying more than 12,000 barrels of bunker oil when it went down on Saturday. Initial reports point to the vessel taking on water in its chain locker as a possible cause of the sinking. Sixteen crew members were rescued, but two remained missing. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials said that the oil leaking from the stricken tanker could eventually reach Boracay Island, a well-known and popular tourist beach.

PCG spokespersons said that booms had been deployed around sunken tanker to try and contain the oil and that various government agencies and private companies had been drafted in to help clean up the spill. The PCG estimated that 200,000 liters of bunker fuel had already spilled and that the magnitude of the spill constituted a national emergency. The vessel reportedly sank to a depth of 600 meters and is beyond the reach of divers.

The shoreline in affected village areas has been covered with what local officials are calling thick, dark oil. The PCG is already saying that the spill could be one of the worst ever in the Philippines.



http://www.newsletterscience.com/marex/readmore.cgi?issue_id=171&article_id=1520&l=1&s=16239

More:

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=311401&rel_no=1

Note: chain lockers filling with water is a common occurrence on ships. There is a separate bilge system to keep this pumped out. On some ships the system is always left open and all one has to do is start the fire pump for a "remote" pump-out (this would not affect fire suppression safety unless there was an extremely large fire in which case you would abandon ship anyway). Because of the amount of rust and debris (from the anchor chains) that collects there, these systems have to be checked regularly to be sure that the lines are open and that the space can be de-watered. Even on a 1000 foot long ship, a full chain locker is noticeable because the bow is down and the ship is sluggish in the waves.

[robinlynne]

1. the irony of naming an oil vessel solar one.....