Cebu oil spill damages P6.5 million worth of mangroves

About P6.5 million worth of mangroves in the town of Cordova in Cebu have been "fully damaged" by the oil spill caused by the collision of ferry boats last August 16.

This was the reason why the Cordova town mayor declared a state of calamity, which is still in force as of August 28, Dr. Simeon Rocel, Environment Department’s Region 7 coastal and marine management chief, told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Damage to mangroves

Out of 13 barangays, 11 coastal areas are still affected by the oil spill.

"Mayroong 380 hectares of mangrove na nadamage through the oil spill," explained Rocel. "The Mangroves were coated with oil slick. Hindi ko alam ang chances na mabuhay pa rin ang mga ito kaya hanggang ngayon under observation pa," he noted citing that some of the mangroves were covered with oil from the "roots to leaves," causing the plants' suffocation.

"Sa initial assessment ng DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), P6.5 million ang damage to mangroves dahil sa oil spill," he added.

Mangroves are the nurseries and feeding grounds of small fish and, without these, other ecosystems will die, he said.

Fisherfolk also affected

Rocel stated that Cordova’s main livelihood—fishing—is deeply affected. Townsfolk's fish cages were also affected because fish cannot survive. "Kaunti ang nahuhuling isda at walang mabubuhay na isda [sa fishcage]… Maraming dead fish ang lumilitaw."

To augment their livelihood, fisherfolk were contracted for P200 a day as laborers to the oil spill clean up.

As of this posting, Rocel noted that there is still some oil leaking from the sunken M/V St. Thomas Aquinas.

'Relatively light' damage?

The 2GO Group, operators of the sunken ship, reported that experts had assessed the oil spill damage to the town of Cordova as "relatively light."

"Although the contamination covered a relatively large area of where the mangroves are, oiling appeared relatively light," Nicky Cariglia, technical adviser at International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd of London, said in a statement. 2GO commissioned ITOPF to provide damage assessment.

However, Cariglia noted that they have yet to undertake further boat surveys and studies “to gain a better understanding of the organizational structure and activities and exactly how and by whom the oil waste will be processed.”

Disaster recap

Last August 16, the passenger ship M/V St. Thomas Aquinas collided with the cargo vessel Sulpicio Express 7, killing about 82 people, with 55 others still missing.

The sunken ship was loaded with 120,000 liters of bunker fuel, 20,000 liters of lube oil, and 20,000 liters of Diesel.

Authorities are now studying ways to remove the sunken ship, as it threatens to leak more fuel, a report from Agence France-Presse said. — VC/TJD, GMA News