(Photo courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard)
By Alec Go
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) said it has found probable cause for the filing of administrative charges against the owner of sunken ship MT Princess Empress, the oil spill source in the waters of Mindoro and nearby provinces.
In an update on Wednesday, April 5, MARINA said the filing of charges is underway against RDC Reield Marine Services Inc. for unauthorized operations due to the absence of a valid Certificate of Public Conveyance (CPC).
This followed the issuance of a resolution on March 30 which stated that the ship owner “still chose to operate” MT Princess Empress for nine times.
According to MARINA, operating without a valid CPC is a violation of Section 16 of Chapter VI of Republic Act No. 9295.
It added that the prohibition is also listed in Section 7, Rule III of the 2014 Amendments that requires a CPC amendment when a ship is to be added or removed by the operators’ CPC.
On March 27 morning, the motor tanker carrying around 800,000 liters of industrial fuel sank off the waters of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Since oil spill cleanup began, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it has already collected in its offshore operations nearly 16,000 liters of oily water mixture and 180 sacks of oil contaminated materials.
As of April 4, a total of 4,706 sacks and 22 drums of waste have been collected from 13 affected barangays in Naujan, Bulalacao, and Pola.
