Authorities discovered the wreck three weeks after the oil tanker Princess Empress sank off the coast of the Philippines. A Japanese diving robot found the exact position of the sunken ship at a depth of almost 400 meters, the governor responsible for the province of Oriental Mindoro said today.
According to the Philippine Civil Protection Agency, the submersible will now inspect the ship’s hull before deciding how to bring the leak under control.
Large-scale oil spill
Diesel and heavy oil have been polluting the waters and beaches in Oriental Mindoros and on and off other Philippine islands since the ship went down in late February. According to Philippine authorities, thousands of hectares of coral reefs, mangrove forests and algae could be affected by the disaster.
In the meantime, as a result of the tanker accident, traces of oil have already been discovered north of the island of Palawan – around 350 kilometers southwest of where the “Princess Empress” sank. Oil was also drifting north of the busy shipping lane between Mindoro and the main Philippine island of Luzon. So far, tens of thousands of people have been affected by the oil spill. Fishermen in affected regions have been banned from going to sea until further notice.
