The ferry Princess of the Stars sank on 21 June, close to the island of Sibuyan in the central Philippines. Toxic pesticides, including endosulfan which is used as an insecticide, were being carried as part of the containerised cargo. On 9 July a UN/EU team was sent out to the wreck site at the request of the Philippine state authorities. The team’s task was to evaluate measures already taken and further measures planned, to assess the environmental and health risks and to make recommendations for further action. One of the members of the group was Dr Rune Berglind, a scientist from FOI.

M/V Princess of the Stars is a combined passenger and container vessel. The cargo included 11 tons of pesticides and there were approximately 100,000 litres of fuel oil of an unspecified type remaining on board the vessel. All cargo was packed in containers. The team returned on 20 July having evaluated, among other things, preventive measures that needed to be taken if the cargo should start to leak into the sea.

“Our mission was to help the Philippine authorities to gain an overall picture of the situation. We had to assess how toxic the insecticide was, evaluate the possible environmental impact of a fuel oil spillage, and assess the environmental and health risks as well as advising on strategies for sampling, protective measures and follow-up action,” says Rune Berglind.

Samples taken by the Philippine authorities have shown no traces of endosulfan in the waters surrounding the vessel. But that does not mean that the danger is over since this is the season for typhoons in the area.

“No samples were taken closer to the wreck than about 20 metres and the authorities have not had the resources to continue studying the samples in detail, which is something that really ought to be done. The ferry, which is about 190 metres in length, is lying upside down with the bows above water and the stern at a depth of about 40 metres, which could affect the integrity of the packaging,” says Rune. There is a risk of the pesticides leaking out since the packaging is not designed to withstand prolonged immersion in water. A leakage could have disastrous consequences locally, possibly proving lethal to marine and animal life,” he believes.

“We are not sure which type of fuel is on board. If it is a heavy fuel oil, the impact in the event of a leakage will extend over a larger area. Our report contains an evaluation of the measures taken together with recommendations for the coming work of preventing and reducing the impact on health and the environment in the area if the chemicals should leak out. We have submitted the report and it is now up to the Philippine authorities and the vessel’s owner to take the further action needed,” says Rune Berglind in conclusion.

The full report can be downloaded under Related Links. Authors are Stephané Le Floch and Rune Berglind.

Photo: Dr Rune Berglind