A cargo of synthetic fuel oil aboard a tanker that sank in stormy weather in Manila Bay has started leaking small amounts, the Philippine Coast Guard said Saturday.

Authorities are racing to begin a delicate underwater operation to remove the highly toxic cargo from the sunken ship, which remains intact, to avert a major environmental crisis.
The 65-meter-long tanker that sank was carrying about 1.4 million liters of synthetic fuel oil stored in sealed tanks when it was hit by huge waves, and appeared to have suffered engine failure and then took on water after leaving Bataan province, west of Manila, on a domestic voyage.
The crew struggled to steer the tanker into port, but it sank early Thursday.
Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said 16 crew members were rescued but one drowned.
Divers reached the tanker, which the Coast Guard earlier said was lying at a relatively shallow depth of 34 meters, and saw small amounts of the cargo leaking from a valve in one of the separate compartments, although the tanks remained intact.
Balilo said the slick was not very sticky and not black in colour, indicating that there was no major leak so far, suggesting the oil leaked may have come from the small tank that powers the ship’s engine and the tanker’s cargo. “The amount is small and manageable, and we hope it stays that way until we can start pulling it out,” he added.
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