Typhoon Gaemi
By AFP
July 25, 2024
A handout photo from the Philippine Coast Guard shows part of MT Terra Nova oil tanker after it capsized in Manila Bay - Copyright Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)/AFP Handout
Pam CASTRO
A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they raced to contain a spill.
The MT Terra Nova was heading for the central city of Iloilo when it capsized in Manila Bay, nearly seven kilometres (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality in Bataan province, near the capital, in the early hours.
The vessel went down as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon have lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
An oil spill stretching several kilometres has been detected in the busy waterway.
“We are racing against time and we will try to do our best to contain it immediately and stop the fuel from leaking,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said at a briefing.
He warned that if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the biggest spill in Philippine history.
“There is a big danger that Manila will be affected, even the shoreline of Manila, if the fuel will leak, because it is within Manila Bay,” Balilo said.
Thousands of fishermen and tour operators are dependent on the waters for their livelihoods.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said 16 of the 17 crew members had been rescued from the stricken vessel.
A search was underway for the missing crew member, but Bautista said strong winds and high waves were hampering response efforts.
Four of the crew were receiving medical treatment.
A photo released by the coast guard showed the MT Terra Nova almost entirely submerged in rough seas.
– Investigation ordered –
An oil slick stretching about 3.7 kilometres was being carried by a “strong current” in an easterly, north-easterly direction, the coast guard said in a report.
Coast guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan said he ordered a probe into the incident.
Marine environmental protection personnel have been mobilised to help contain the slick.
“It will definitely affect the marine environment,” Balilo said, describing the amount of oil on the ship as “enormous”.
One of the worst oil spills in the Philippines was in February 2023, when a tanker carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro.
Diesel fuel and thick oil from that vessel contaminated the waters and beaches along the coast of Oriental Mindoro province, devastating the fishing and tourism industries.
The oil dispersed over hundreds of kilometres of waters famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world.
Thousands of fishermen were ordered to stay ashore, and swimming was banned.
In 2006, a tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.
Ship sinks off Taiwan, 9 sailors missing as typhoon heads towards China
By AFP
July 25, 2024
A motorcyclist rides past fallen trees due to strong winds caused by Typhoon Gaemi in Keelung - Copyright AFP I-Hwa CHENG
Typhoon Gaemi swept towards southern China on Thursday after killing at least two people in Taiwan, with nine sailors missing after their cargo ship sank in stormy weather.
The typhoon — the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years — had already forced authorities on the island to shutter schools and offices, suspend the stock market and evacuate thousands of people.
On its path to Taiwan, Gaemi also exacerbated the seasonal rains in the Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides that killed six, and a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sank off Manila on Thursday with authorities racing to contain a spill.
By Thursday morning, the typhoon had weakened and “the centre has moved out to sea” at around 4:20 am (2020 GMT), said Taiwan’s weather authorities.
Taiwan’s fire agency said it received a report early Thursday that a cargo ship had sunk off the island’s southern coast, forcing its nine Myanmar crew members to abandon ship in life jackets.
“They fell into the sea and were floating there,” said Hsiao Huan-chang, head of the fire agency, adding that rescuers contacted a nearby Taiwanese cargo ship to assist them.
Hsiao did not specify when the Tanzania-flagged ship sank, but said the rescue vessel arrived in the area at 8:35 am (0035 GMT).
“(When the Taiwanese ship arrived) the visibility at the scene was very low and the winds were too strong,” he told reporters.
“When the weather permits, we will immediately dispatch ships or helicopters to rescue but at the moment it is not possible.”
Another official at the agency told AFP after the briefing that the sailors were missing.
Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday night with sustained wind speeds of 190 kilometres (118 miles) per hour at its peak.
More than 200 people were injured and at least two were confirmed killed — a motorist in the southern Kaohsiung city was crushed by a tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien died after part of a building fell on her.
Several cities, including Taipei, announced a second consecutive day off, with schools, government offices and the stock market closed, while hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled.
In the south, Kaohsiung residents saw their streets transformed into rivers, with some households flooded with rainwater.
– ‘Mountain torrents’ –
The storm is now tracking towards China’s Fujian province, which suspended all train services and put in place the second-highest flood warning alert level.
The national water resources ministry warned the day before that extremely heavy rains were expected to swell rivers and lakes in Fujian and the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.
In the Philippines, clean-up efforts were under way Thursday in the capital Manila as residents and business owners dumped soaked mattresses, bags of rubbish and other debris on muddy streets.
Street vendor Zenaida Cuerda, 55, said the food she had been selling had washed away and her house in Manila was flooded.
“All my capital is gone,” Cuerda told AFP. “I have nothing now, that’s my only livelihood.”
The region sees frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
burs-dhc/sco
By AFP
July 25, 2024
A motorcyclist rides past fallen trees due to strong winds caused by Typhoon Gaemi in Keelung - Copyright AFP I-Hwa CHENG
Typhoon Gaemi swept towards southern China on Thursday after killing at least two people in Taiwan, with nine sailors missing after their cargo ship sank in stormy weather.
The typhoon — the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years — had already forced authorities on the island to shutter schools and offices, suspend the stock market and evacuate thousands of people.
On its path to Taiwan, Gaemi also exacerbated the seasonal rains in the Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides that killed six, and a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sank off Manila on Thursday with authorities racing to contain a spill.
By Thursday morning, the typhoon had weakened and “the centre has moved out to sea” at around 4:20 am (2020 GMT), said Taiwan’s weather authorities.
Taiwan’s fire agency said it received a report early Thursday that a cargo ship had sunk off the island’s southern coast, forcing its nine Myanmar crew members to abandon ship in life jackets.
“They fell into the sea and were floating there,” said Hsiao Huan-chang, head of the fire agency, adding that rescuers contacted a nearby Taiwanese cargo ship to assist them.
Hsiao did not specify when the Tanzania-flagged ship sank, but said the rescue vessel arrived in the area at 8:35 am (0035 GMT).
“(When the Taiwanese ship arrived) the visibility at the scene was very low and the winds were too strong,” he told reporters.
“When the weather permits, we will immediately dispatch ships or helicopters to rescue but at the moment it is not possible.”
Another official at the agency told AFP after the briefing that the sailors were missing.
Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday night with sustained wind speeds of 190 kilometres (118 miles) per hour at its peak.
More than 200 people were injured and at least two were confirmed killed — a motorist in the southern Kaohsiung city was crushed by a tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien died after part of a building fell on her.
Several cities, including Taipei, announced a second consecutive day off, with schools, government offices and the stock market closed, while hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled.
In the south, Kaohsiung residents saw their streets transformed into rivers, with some households flooded with rainwater.
– ‘Mountain torrents’ –
The storm is now tracking towards China’s Fujian province, which suspended all train services and put in place the second-highest flood warning alert level.
The national water resources ministry warned the day before that extremely heavy rains were expected to swell rivers and lakes in Fujian and the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.
In the Philippines, clean-up efforts were under way Thursday in the capital Manila as residents and business owners dumped soaked mattresses, bags of rubbish and other debris on muddy streets.
Street vendor Zenaida Cuerda, 55, said the food she had been selling had washed away and her house in Manila was flooded.
“All my capital is gone,” Cuerda told AFP. “I have nothing now, that’s my only livelihood.”
The region sees frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
burs-dhc/sco
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