Oil disaster before LimaM: Leck discovered in the sunken tanker

Oil disaster before LimaM: Leck discovered in the sunken tanker

An oil tanker off the coast of the Philippines has dropped and ensures worrying environmental influences. The incident illustrates the great danger that comes from the consequences of extreme weather events. Especially the typhoon “Gaemi”, which raged during the accident, shows how vulnerable the maritime infrastructure is in times of climate change.

The situation before Limay

In front of the city of Limay, around 40 kilometers west of Manila, the oil tanker “Terra Nova” sank on Thursday. A crew member drowned during a violent typhoon, while 16 more could be saved. The tanker was loaded with 1.4 million liters of industrial heating oil. Although so far only minimal leaks on the valves have occurred, a significantly increasing oil pollution has already been registered. The current oil carpet has expanded from three kilometers to up to 14 kilometers.

environmental protection and recovery measures

The coast guard reacted immediately and announced the beginning of recovery by a specialist company for Sunday. The aim is to pump the oil to prevent a larger environmental disaster. The 44 -meter -long ship is relatively flat at a depth of only 34 meters, which facilitates the salvage. The work to combat oil pollution is expected to take a week.

fishing affected

Although the situation is currently classified as non -worrying, there are serious warnings for local fishermen to avoid the affected area. The potential effects on regional fishing are significant, especially in a country in which many people rely on the sea.

a warning memory

These incidents are reminiscent of the serious oil disaster last year in front of the province of Oriental Mindoro when a ship with 800,000 liters of industrial oil sank and an area of around 10,000 square kilometers was affected. Such events are not only a danger to the environment, but also threaten the livelihood of thousands of people who are dependent on fishing. Current events before LimaM require urgent measures and increased attention to environmental protection in the region.

- Nag