Submersible Checks Out Tanker

A minisubmarine inspecting the wreck of the Solar 1 on Friday found an open oil compartment and another one leaking small quantities of oil, the ABS-CBN News Channel reported.

Capt. Luis Tuason, district commander of the Coast Guard in Western Visayas, told ANC the remote-operated vehicle (ROV) sent down by the Japanese survey ship Shinsei Maru saw that the hatch of the fourth compartment was open. The compartment is on the port (left) side of the sunken oil tanker.

Tuason said the compartment could have already leaked 275,665 liters of oil.

Another compartment on the port side was found broken and leaking small quantities of oil. The compartment could hold about 275,000 liters of oil.

The remote-operated vehicle will continue probing the surface and parts of the sunken tanker until Saturday.

The Solar 1 sank in rough seas off Guimaras on August 11.

Tuason said Coast Guard personnel were spraying chemical dispersants on the waters above the tanker to prevent the leaked oil from spreading.

The survey started after the ROV found the sunken ship lying 640 meters on the seabed some 7.8 nautical miles southwest of Unisan Island Thursday.

Officials said the ship was found in an upright position.

During Thursday’s initial survey, the ROV found a crack on the right side of the ship.

ANC reported that the crack was in the third compartment of the ship, which also has a capacity of at least 275,000 liters of oil.

Tuason said it was not clear if the oil in the third compartment had leaked.

He said the Japanese survey crew was paid to survey the sunken tanker and make recommendations.

The recommendations would be relayed to Coast Guard headquarters in Manila and studied by experts. Only then can it recommend a plan of action on the tanker.

Petron Corp. signed a $20-million contract with Fukuda Salvage and Marine Works Co. Ltd. for the services of the salvage ship.

Carlos Tan, Petron spokesman, said the ship will finish its survey in two to three days and would be able to come up with its findings in another two days.

At Friday’s Special Board of Marine Inquiry into the sinking of Solar 1, an executive of Petron testified that the tanker had been shipshape and ready to sail.

“Based on our inspection and the certificates submitted to us by the ship’s owners, we believe that the tanker was safe to sail,” said Rolando Salonga, Petron’s distribution officer.

Salonga, who was responsible for chartering Solar 1, said it was the first time Petron had hired a vessel from Sunshine Maritime Development.

He said Solar 1, which was carrying with 2 million liters of bunker fuel, was only 98 percent loaded, a standard precautionary measure.

Salonga said Petron had complied with all the standard operation procedures before Solar 1 began its voyage. The ship was checked out for soundness even before the bunker fuel was loaded.

He could not explain, however, how the expired license of Capt. Norberto F. Arguro was overlooked.

“We rely heavily on certificates issued by Bureau Veritas and the ship’s owners,” Salonga said.

In response to Arguro’s comments that he chose to set sail despite problems with the tanker and adverse weather because he did not want to lose the company money, Salonga said the contract had no provision that penalized late delivery.

“If the vessel had encountered a problem in the voyage, it would be the ship master who had direct responsibility,” Salonga said. “Any unusual activity during the voyage should have been reported to us, but we had no direct communication with the captain.”

The Manilla Times, Submersible Checks Out Tanker, by ABS-CBN Interactive and Katrice R. Jalbuena, Saturday, September 2, 2006