A TUGBOAT sank off Naga City in Cebu on Sunday after sustaining damage on its hull, causing an oil spill in the area, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.
The PCG said the ill-fated MTug Sugbo 2 figured in the mishap in the Naga Anchorage.
It said the tugboat was loaded with about 500 liters of automotive diesel oil when it sank.
A PCG team has been deployed to control the oil spill.
“The PCG team deployed three segments of oil spill boom, two bales of absorbent pads, and four segments of absorbent boom to control the oil spill,” it also said.
The PCG said the boat’s personnel reported hull damage at the steering portion inside the engine room.
“According to the master, he noticed the steering room was flooded due to an approximately four-inch diameter hole at the vessel’s starboard quarter,” the PCG said.
Crew members used a submersible pump to remove seawater inside the steering room but the vessel later lost power.
The PCG said the tugboat master contacted the vessel’s sister ship, MTug Sugbo 5, to connect its power source to the submersible pump.
“But he terminated the pumping operation due to the increase in the volume of water in the steering room,” the PCG said.
The PCG said another sister ship, MTug Sugbo 7, responded “but the rate of water going in was much greater than the water they were able to pump out.”
“Due to the unfavorable sea conditions, the master instructed all crew on board to abandon the ship for safety before it eventually submerged,” it said.
The PCG said it is still determining what caused the hull damage.
