Oil tanker attacked in Red Sea threatens environment
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Tanker capsizes near Manila claiming one life, cargo ship sinks off coast Taiwan
Typhoon Gaemi has sunk a tanker off the Philippines, killing one crew member, and a general cargo vessel off Taiwan, leaving six crew members missing.
A tanker carrying industrial fuel sank in rough seas off the coast of the Philippines on Thursday, resulting in the death of one crew member. Sixteen out of the seventeen crew members of the Terra Nova were rescued. The Philippine Coast Guard discovered the body of the missing crew member in the sea off Limay on Thursday afternoon, local time, Reuters reported.
AIS data shows the Terra Nova has a length of 65m and width of 12 meters with a deadweight tonnage of 1,415t. The vessel was sailing for Iloilo on Panay Island in the Philippines.
Oil spill threatening Manila
The Philippines-flagged tanker was transporting 1,494 metric tonnes of industrial fuel, and officials have confirmed an oil spill that could reach the waters near Manila, posing a significant threat. An oil slick is currently spreading over approximately two nautical miles. Efforts to contain the oil spill are being hampered by strong winds and high waves.
A photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the Terra Nova almost completely submerged in rough seas. It has since sunk to a depth of 34 metres, which the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo, described as “relatively shallow.” He stated that this depth would allow for the oil to be siphoned from the tanker “quite quickly.”
Rescued crew members reported rough seas before the ship capsized. Officials are investigating whether Typhoon Gaemi, which recently caused widespread flooding in Manila and nearby towns, contributed to the sinking. The typhoon and monsoon rains have resulted in at least 22 deaths in the Philippines.
PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Ronnie Gil L Gavan, has directed the deployment of three 44-meter multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) to augment the ongoing oil spill response operations in Bataan.
✍️https://t.co/mG1BTmHNha#DOTrPH 🇵🇭#CoastGuardPH#MaritimeSectorWorks pic.twitter.com/hJmWHaJnlJ
— Philippine Coast Guard (@coastguardph) July 25, 2024
Cargo ship sank off coast Taiwan
In a separate incident the Tanzanian-flagged general cargo ship, Fu Shun, capsized and sank off the coast of Taiwan on Thursday morning local time, with nine crew members on board. The Fu Shun is a 56-metre-long vessel, built in 1985.
Local authorities stated that the nine crew members were from Myanmar and had abandoned the ship wearing life jackets. The Taiwan Coast Guard later reported three crew members had been found ashore, including two foreign nationals who were taken to a police station and confirmed to be the ship’s first mate and chef.
The vessel sank approximately 19 nautical miles from Kaohsiung City after Typhoon Gaemi passed over the island overnight. Typhoon Gaemi, which made landfall on Taiwan’s east coast on Wednesday, has claimed three fatalities and left hundreds injured on the island. There are separate reports of another three foreign vessels running aground, but with no further casualties at this point.