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Lawsuit Threatened in Philippines Oil Spill

Fishermen and environmental group Greenpeace want the Petron Corporation of the Philippines and its parent company Saudi-Aramco (Arab-American Company) to be held accountable for the worst oil spill in the history of the Philippines, and were threatening to file a huge class-action lawsuit against the companies. The Greenpeace ship "MY Experanza" is in Guimaras province, with scientists and volunteers, to help in the cleanup efforts. Manila has asked for aid from the United States and Japan regarding the clean-up.

The MT Solar I, carrying some 2 million liters or 13 barrels of bunker fuel, sunk off the island province of Guimaras on August 11. It had been chartered by Petron to ferry fuel from an oil refinery in Bataan province of the Philippines. Filipino officials in the country`s Coast Guard said the ship "is pumping out between 100 to 200 liters of oil per hour as of Sunday afternoon," and had leaked at least 200,000 liters as of press time.

Janet Cotter, from Greenpeace`s Science Unit in Britain, noted "This oil spill has had profound impacts on the environment and inhabitants. Although the visible pollution can be cleaned up to a certain extent, the long-term toxic effects of the oil pollution will possibly kill mangroves and corals, impacting the rich marine biodiversity found in this area and affecting people`s livelihoods for years to come."