Featured image: Bulletin 10: Oil spill trajectory model forecasts that spill will flow through the Verde Island Passage for the rest of the week The oil spill threatens the global center of marine biodiversity located in the Verde Island Passage (VIP). The latest satellite image on March 19 shows that the oil is still leaking…

Featured image: Bulletin 09: Oil spill trajectories show northward shift with Calapan possibly receiving most of the oil from March 20-22 The latest satellite image on March 15 shows that the oil is still leaking out of the sunken vessel. Oil spill trajectories for March 16-22 show a northward shift with Calapan possibly receiving most…

Featured image: Bulletin 08: Oil slicks now sighted at the coasts of Calapan, along the Verde Island Passage UP MSI reported last March 12 of the possibility of the oil being transported northwards of the sunken vessel due to the weakening Amihan. Yesterday, March 16, a sighting report at Calapan, Oriental Mindoro was confirmed by…

Featured image: Bulletin 07: Oil spill trajectory model forecasts that spill will reach other areas of the Verde Island Passage due to weakening Amihan The recent simulation focusing on the area of the tanker’s location for March 10 to 16 shows that with continuous seepage of oil, most of the oil will end up along…

Featured image: Bulletin 06: Oil slick sightings and deposition reported in Taytay, Palawan The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reported oil slick sightings and onshore deposition on the coast of Barangay Casian, Taytay, Palawan. Northeastern Palawan is advised to prepare and report any sighting of oil slick to authorities and https://bit.ly/MTPE-Report, await government advice regarding coastal…

Featured image: Bulletin 05: Report sightings of the oil spill to Karagatan Patrol Models are generated to inform the public on the potential direction of transport of the oil spill and help direct response efforts on the ground. However, models have some levels of uncertainty due to assumptions and limitations, and thus, should be used…

Featured image: Bulletin 04: Model forecasts that spill will reach Cuyo Islands and get closer to northern Palawan in about a weeks time The projected trajectory of the oil slick is shown in the images for March 7 and March 12, and initialized with spill locations in the image for March 5. The projected spill…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard We would like to update and correct the area of affected coral reefs that we published in MSI Bulletin #01. Using the modeled oil spill trajectories (Bulletin #02), and looking at higher resolution data, we approximate that 20,000 ha of coral reef, 9,900 ha of mangroves and 6,000 ha of seagrass may…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard MSI’s scientists, with the concurrence of the DENR, are recommending to warn coastal communities—especially those on the eastern and southern sides of Oriental Mindoro, including Caluya Island (Northwestern Antique), and potentially Cuyo Island of Palawan—to prepare for the possibility that the oil spill could reach their shores. Aerial surveys by the…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard Marine experts from the UP Diliman College of Science Marine Science Institute (UPD-CS MSI), UP Visayas (UPV), and Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) came together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to work on countermeasures to address the…