A couple of big oil spills

Reported here:

A Japanese tanker spilled about 1.4 million gallons of crude oil in the eastern Indian Ocean following a collision with a cargo ship, the tanker's operator said Tuesday. Japan's Kyodo news service said the spill - which would be about 4,500 tons - may have been the largest ever involving a Japanese tanker.

In a separate oil spill, the Philippines said that a tanker had sunk in rough seas Friday off the coast of Guimaras Island, about 312 miles southeast of Manila. About 528,000 gallons of industrial fuel was leaking from the accident, officials said.

A central Philippine island province declared a ``state of calamity'' following what authorities called the country's worst spill.

The second spill is a bad one:

The Philippines on Wednesday appealed for international help in battling the country's worst-ever oil spill.

Tanker Solar 1 spilled more than 2 million litres of industrial fuel when it sank last week, polluting a major marine reserve and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen, the coastguard said.

Officials have warned that the spill, the largest to afflict country, could take three years to clean with over 200 kilometres of coastline affected. The Philippines on Wednesday appealed for international help in battling the country's worst-ever oil spill.

Tanker Solar 1 spilled more than 2 million litres of industrial fuel when it sank last week, polluting a major marine reserve and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen, the coastguard said.

Officials have warned that the spill, the largest to afflict country, could take three years to clean with over 200 kilometres of coastline affected.
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Fishing grounds, dive spots and a national marine reserve were contaminated. The provincial government has declared the tropical resort island a disaster zone.

The local government has said the livelihoods of around 15,000 people, many of them fishermen, had been hit by the disaster.

(source)