Philippines to deploy floating barrier to contain oil spill after tanker capsizes

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The Philippine Coast Guard planned Friday to deploy oil dispersant and floating barriers a day after a tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel sank off Manila.

AFP journalists at the Port of Limay in Bataan province watched coast guard personnel preparing equipment for a boat to be used against the slick in Manila Bay.

The MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometers (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality early Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.

An oil slick stretching several kilometers has been detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

But coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told a briefing Thursday that it appeared diesel fuel used to power the tanker had leaked and, so far, not the industrial fuel oil cargo.