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"A vessel of our marine hauler Sunshine Maritime sunk late Friday afternoon
about 20 nautical miles north of Guimaras Island in the Visayas region. The
vessel Solar 1 was carrying 14,000 barrels of fuel oil bound for Western
Mindanao Power Corporation in Zamboanga when it was hit by strong waves due to
severe weather conditions.
"The vessel took shelter near Guimaras due to the severe weather conditions.
After the waves calmed, the vessel proceeded on its journey except that it was
once again hit by strong waves 20 miles off the island. The crew (18 members
and 2 surveyors) was forced to abandon the vessel and only reached the town of
Valencia this morning. Two crew members are still missing.
"At the moment, it is still difficult to ascertain the extent and specific
location of the oil spill given that boats and aircraft are unable to survey
the area due to bad weather conditions.
"We are coordinating with the Philippine Coast Guard and we are monitoring the
situation closely. We have already put our personnel in the area on alert and
they are standing by to respond. Our oil spill equipment is being readied and
we will deploy these once when we get a clearer picture of the situation.
"The company is prepared for such an event since it has ready oil spill
equipment as part of the Waterborne Industry Spill Equipment (WISE) program
with other oil companies. We can deploy additional WISE assets as the need
arises.
"Petron is taking all the necessary steps to contain and recover
the fuel oil so as to mitigate any environmental impact."
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