“Possible, unconfirmed oil was observed in satellite imagery. Possible oil continued to emanate from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress,” the April 2 analysis done by the NOAA reads.
The Philippine government has requested the US for help in the oil spill response, and the US assistance includes “The US Navy is also assisting in the oil spill response with its Dynamic Positioning Vessel, Pacific Valkyrie, which arrived on Monday in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.A leader of a group engaged in environment and clean energy advocacies lamented on Monday the slow response to the oil spill.
The ship owner, RDC Reield Marine Services, tapped its foreign insurers and partners to respond to the oil spill. International agencies tasked with handling oil spills were activated, and countries with experience in dealing with oil spills – Japan, US, South Korea, France, United Kingdom – also pitched in.
Dolor said these bags would first be checked if they work with ROV Hakuyo. The bags will be brought to the leaking portions of the MT Princess Empress in a bid to plug the leaks. The tanker sustained heavy damage, based on images gathered by Hakuyo.