Government to siphon oil from sunken tanker that caused spill

Manila: The government said on Tuesday it has decided to syphon oil from a sunken tanker that caused the Philippines' worst spill but will wait to see if an international oil pollution fund will foot the bill.

The tanker Solar I sank on August 11 off the central island province of Guimaras, spilling some of its cargo of 2 million litres of industrial fuel oil. It is sitting on the seabed about 640 metres under water.

"The decision is that we will siphon off that oil. The question now is whether or not the fund will accept it for compensation," said Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz, who heads the Disaster Coordinating Council.

The spill has damaged fishing grounds and marine reserves in a region being developed as a tourist destination. The provincial government says about 26,000 people who depend on fishing have been affected.

Leaving the oil inside the tanker would undermine the plans to attract tourists, Cruz said.

Officials said the tanker is sitting upright and partly buried in mud, but is lying in a seismically active area that was struck in 1947 by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the country.

Joe Nichols, deputy director of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, said the vessel may remain stable in the short term, "but in the long term, I think if there is oil, it has to come out."