UN and EU specialists brought in to help Philippine authorities retrieve toxic cargo from a sunken passenger ferry have not detected any leaks or oil spills emanating from the doomed vessel, according to a UN relief official.
They gathered water samplings for chemical tests and are now preparing a final report for the Philippine government's special task force on the Princess of the Stars, said Andrew MacLeod, who oversees coordinated relief operations for the UN in the country.
"The initial verbal report that they have given is that there has been no leak of oil or chemicals detected from the sunken ferry," MacLeod told IRIN, even as he warned that "circumstances could change" with the onset of new typhoons that may hit the country and dislodge the wreckage from its current position off Sibuyan island, in the central Philippines.
"It's a necessity that further monitoring for any leaks must continue," he said, adding that tests were conducted in laboratories overseas from samples taken from the site.
He said the UN team was also impressed by the government's response in protecting the immediate environment and preventing an ecological disaster. Fishermen in Sibuyan are still barred from fishing near the island and local residents are largely relying on relief supplies, officials there said.
With more than 800 people and 10MT of the agricultural chemical endosulfan on board, the Princess of the Stars ferry sailed into the eye of Typhoon Fengshen on 21 June, after its captain ignored warnings by the state weather bureau. It listed to one side before capsizing. Only 100 bodies have so far been recovered; 57 people survived.
 The initial verbal report that they have given is that there has been no leak of oil or chemicals detected from the sunken ferry. |
Fengshen left more than 1,500 dead or missing as it cut a swath of destruction through the central Philippines, including Panay island, where flood-waters inundated entire towns, destroyed vital infrastructure and agricultural lands and swept away communities.
Rescuers felt endangered in their search and retrieval operations after news of the toxic cargo was made public, forcing authorities to seek outside help.
The owner of the vessel, Sulpicio Lines Inc., has signed a deal with a foreign salvage company to retrieve the bodies and oil first, although no timetable has been set. Sulpicio is alleged to be having a hard time putting up financial guarantees for the salvage company, further complicating the problem.
Sulpicio is blamed for the country's worst maritime accidents, including the 1987 collision between its Dona Paz vessel and a small oil tanker. More than 4,000 were killed but the company was absolved of any criminal liability.
MacLeod said the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had also dispatched a specialist to help in technical matters involving the salvage operations, and stressed the UN remains ready to continue to provide further assistance to relief operations if requested.
"So long as the chemical does not leak, there is no immediate danger, other than the impact it has already had on the reef," MacLeod said.
Meanwhile, MacLeod said, in the next few days he was scheduled to meet officials from Iloilo city, Panay Island, one of the areas that bore the brunt of the Typhoon Fengshen to assess and lay the foundations for long-term emergency assistance.
"Long-term rehabilitation is often forgotten by the international media," said MacLeod. "A joint mission by the UN, the ILO [International Labour Organization], UNDP [UN Development Programme] and FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization], will be in place to find out [what] to look at in terms of long-term rehabilitation needs," MacLeod said.
jvg/bj/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions