Tanker with 800,000 liters of industrial oil sinks off Philippine coast

Manila, Feb 28 (EFE).- A tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil capsized off the coast of Romblon, in the center of the Philippine archipelago, authorities said Tuesday.

It remains to be known whether toxic products have spilled into the sea from the MT Princess Empress, the authorities added.

Joselito Sino Cruz, the port manager of Batangas – south of the northern island of Luzon and the commercial port closest to the accident -, told local media DZBB Radio in a radio interview that all the crew were “safe”.

The crew members were rescued by a foreign-flagged vessel and were to be taken to the port of Subic Bay, about 150 kilometers north of Manila.

The Philippine-flagged MT Princess Empress, built in 2022, was hit by strong waves off the coast of Romblon as it headed to the port of Iloilo from Bataan, in the north of the archipelago, according to Cruz. EFE

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