Philippine Orders Criminal Charges Against Owners Of M/T Princess Empress Over Oil Spill

Executives of the company that ran the tanker have been accused of felonies related to the M/T Princess Empress’s oil spill last year. In February 2023, the vessel capsized off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, resulting in a giant spill that covered the whole eastern side of the island.

Per the National Bureau of Investigation (abbreviated as the NBI) of the Philippines, the tanker was reconstructed from the remnants of a demolished vessel, not a new build, as RDC Reield Marine, the shipowner, asserts. In 2023, the NBI reportedly accused the firm’s officials of manipulating records relating to the ship’s operating license. While the RDC refutes these accusations, the country’s maritime regulator has suspended its permits and ordered it to stop operating vessels.

On Wednesday, the state prosecutors mentioned that they agreed with the NBI and planned to file charges against RDC executives for alleged falsifying public documents.

The prosecutors, however, declined to pursue the NBI’s recommendations to charge 19 Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) workers and one worker of maritime regulator MARINA. NBI has also contended that an insignificant number of MARINA’s relevant officials colluded with the RDC to falsify the vessel’s operating documents. The PCG failed to check all documents for validity before the vessel set sail on the accident journey.

The small product tanker named the Princess Empress went down on February 28 off Pola, Oriental Mindoro, with a cargo loaded with fuel oil estimated to be almost 900,000 litres. The crew members could be rescued safely with the help of a suitable samaritan vessel. However, petroleum began leaking out of the wreck’s cargo tanks.

Fuel oil ended up ashore on the reefs and pristine beaches from the Verde and Calapan Islands in the northwest up to the Caluya Islands in the south. Almost 175,000 individuals were impacted, including several thousands of fishermen put out of work due to a fishing ban.

The Philippine Coast Guard also arranged a massive cleanup on the shore and water, and salvors mobilized to get rid of the remaining oil from Princess Empress’s tanks. The spill response effort wrapped up in 2023, but the ecological impacts will likely linger.

Time determined to ensure that individuals do not forget that what transpired was a crime and not a mere accident, they explained Jesus Crispin Remulla, the Justice Secretary, last year.

Reference: PNA

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