Oil sludge to be shipped to cement firm in Mindanao

The oil sludge to be collected from the coastal waters off Guimaras Island will be shipped to Misamis Oriental in southern Philippines where it will be used for the production of cement, Defense chief Avelino Cruz said Thursday. In a news briefing, Cruz said that on Sunday, a Light Cargo Tanker contracted by Petron Corp. and the Philippine Coast Guard would dock at an abandoned pier in Guimaras to collect the oil sludge. “It (LCT) has a capacity of 2,000 metric tons and it will barge out (the oil sludge). Five dump trucks will be delivering the oil sludge into the barge for it to be delivered to Holcim cement in Misamis Oriental so that these oil sludge can be burned as fuel for making of cement," said Cruz, who also chairs government’s Task Force Guimaras. In its website, Holcim Philippines Inc. claims to be the leading cement manufacturer in the Philippines, employing 1,400 employees in four plants across the archipelago. The cement firm has a 40-year-old history that dates back to its beginnings in Hi Cement Corporation, Davao Union Cement Corporation, Bacnotan Cement Corporation and Alsons Cement Corporation. It operates in four major plants – one in La Union, another in Bulacan, a third in Davao City and the Lugait Plant in Misamis Oriental. These plants account for a total installed clinker production capacity per year of 7.2 million metric tons and annual cement production capacity of 8.7 million metric tons. Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said the transportation of the collected oil waste would take about two weeks. “With the confirmation on the sunken vessel, we can now proceed to work on the disposal of the oil waste…the oil sludge," Reyes said in the same briefing. Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard said the ill-fated MT Solar 1 was located at an estimated depth of 640 meters below the ocean’s surface about seven nautical miles southwest of Unisan Island in Guimaras province. It was leaning slightly to its right side. The Coast Guard based its pronouncements on the findings of the Japanese ship Shinsei Maru, which was hired by Petron to locate the sunken tanker. Cruz said Shinsei Maru would continue “to survey and check what is its (Solar 1) condition…the survey is ongoing and (the Japanese experts) will be giving briefings as they complete their survey." Based on his conversation with Petron vice president Carlos Tan, Cruz said Shinsei Maru would be staying for two to three days before making a formal recommendation on what actions should be taken as regards Solar 1. “He (Tan) said the survey would take two to three days to have a preliminary report and another two to three days to make a recommendation of what the protocol or mechanism or procedure that will be finally adopted," Cruz said. Double-hulled tankers by 2008 In the same briefing, Cruz said the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has presented a “very good plan" requiring all tankers transporting oil products to be double hulled “to prevent the occurrence of an incident like this." “The direction they’re headed is to issue a memorandum circular that will be requiring domestic tankers carrying bunker oil to be double-hulled and double bottom by April of 2008. They are continuing to do consultations and discussions with the industry but this is the direction that they are headed," he said. “They are continuing with their random inspections (of the tankers) that are operating in the Philippines," Cruz added. -GMANews.TV