2023 : Princess Empress, Philipinnes
- Quantity spilled : Approx. 1 000 tons
- Duration of operations : 6 months
- Staff : + 200 operators
n February 28, 2023, while en route from Bataan to Iloilo (Philippines) in rough sea conditions, the coastal tanker Princess Empress, carrying 800 tonnes of Intermediate Fuel Oil, reported an engine failure followed by a hull breach.
The Princess Empress eventually sank approximately 7.5 nautical miles from Baligawan Point (Oriental Mindoro) at a depth of around 400 meters.
The wreck gradually released its cargo, first polluting parts of the Oriental Mindoro coastline, then impacting Semirara Island further south, and even Palawan, located more than 300 km to the southwest.
Source: CEDRE
28 February 2023 - Sinking of MT Princess Empress, oil leaks detected.
5 March 2023 - Le Floch Dépollution was commissioned by ITOPF to manage the cleanup of the affected coastlines.
1er June 2023 - Completion of cleanup operations at Semirara
19 June 2023 - Completion of cleanup operations at Mindoro
Areas of intervention
The coastal cleanup operations following the MT Princess Empress incident took place in two distinct areas:
Mindoro: 63 km of coastline affected
Semirara: 6 km of coastline affected
Although resulting from the same incident, the coastal configuration, operational conditions, and management approaches were so different between Mindoro and Semirara that it felt on the ground as if two separate pollution events were being addressed.
This difference is particularly evident in the length of the coastline affected: a longer coastline does not necessarily imply a longer or more complex operation.
Key operational particularities
Working schedules
The pollution affected two separate provinces, requiring different operational schedules:
Mindoro: teams worked 6 hours per day, 7 days a week, with an average of 160–200 operators per day.
Semirara: two shifts (2 × 4 hours) per day, 6 days per week, with an average of 350–400 people per day.
Regulations
The Ministry of Labor imposed unprecedented requirements for this type of operation, which we adapted to while maintaining team efficiency:
Daily blood pressure checks for operators before and after each shift.
Maximum working time: 4 hours at Semirara and 6 hours at Mindoro.
Logistics
For the transfer and disposal of waste, we relied on creative, locally available solutions, including motorized tricycles, carabaos, and other means on site.
Cleaning techniques
As usual, we applied proven cleanup techniques adapted to the quantity of oil and the type of substrate, while respecting biodiversity and minimizing waste production:
Manual collection remains the first systematic step, complemented when necessary by specialized techniques such as flushing or flooding for soils and mangroves, and high-pressure cleaning for hard surfaces.
Additional methods were used in very specific areas, such as cleaning pebbles and gravel with a concrete mixer.
These methods, developed and refined through our experience, require no chemicals and ensure minimal environmental impact.
Acknowledgements
We would like to sincerely thank all of our partners who supported us throughout this operation:
ITOPF (Susannah Domaille, Sam Durrance, Alex Hunt, Natálie Kirk, Andrew Le Masurier & Sue Ware)
Harbor Star, our local partner
The Philippine government for welcoming us in both provinces
All of our operators, who worked tirelessly for four months under sometimes very challenging weather conditions