The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said that the clean-up operation for the remaining oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro are completed, ahead of its target date, June 19.

“So, yesterday we were shown the footage together with OCD (Office of Civil Defense), DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), LGU (local government unit), BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), and Department of Science and Technology. Pinakita ho sa amin na wala ng laman iyong mga tangke, so parang (declared) nila lang completed na po iyong oil spill recovery doon sa Mindoro,” PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said in a news forum.

Balilo added that there is no more oil present based on their assessment and recovery procedure.

“Maliban na lang po doon sa mga pipes na may mga… na pakonti-konti at sabi po ng salvage operator, ay unstoppable na po,” he added.

Last May 29, the Dynamic Support Vessel (DSV) Fire Opal, chartered by Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp (MTSC), started their siphoning operations.

The MT Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, sank due to engine trouble in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro in February.

The PCG spox noted that there are still two salvage vessels.

“Mag-iiwan po dalawang salvage vessel iyong Malayan… para po mag-monitor kung sakaling mayroon pang mga oil na tatagas ay patuloy pa pong ire-recover,” Balilo explained.

“Pero hindi pa naman po tapos iyong talagang oil spill containment operation at marami pa pong gagawin at kukonsultahin pa po iyong mga stakeholders katulad nga po noong OCD, ng DENR at saka po ng Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources at saka iyong local government unit ng Mindoro,” he added.