MANILA: Thousands of fishermen in the Philippines have been ordered to stay ashore as authorities struggled on Friday (Mar 3) to contain an oil spill from a sunken tanker that is threatening the region’s rich marine life and economy.
The slick off Mindoro island, south of the capital Manila, stretched for 120km and was about nine kilometres offshore, said Ram Temena, disaster operations chief in the affected province of Mindoro Oriental.
The Philippine Coast Guard is still looking for the Princess Empress, which had engine trouble and sank in rough seas off Naujan municipality on Tuesday.
It was carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil from Bataan province, near Manila, to the central province of Iloilo.
Another vessel rescued the 20 crew members on board.
Diesel fuel, which had been powering the Philippine tanker, and some of the cargo have leaked into the sea, the coast guard said previously, sparking concern for the environment and industries dependent on the ocean.
Rough seas have prevented the deployment of oil spill booms to stop the toxic material spreading, coast guard spokesman Armando Balilo told local media.