The Philippine Coast Guard said on Wednesday that operations had started to recover 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil from a tanker that sank in Manila Bay three weeks ago during Typhoon Gaemi.

The sunken vessel, the MT Terranova, has posed a major environmental threat since it sank  on July 25 off the city of  Limay, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital, Manila.

An undetermined amount of its cargo has already spilled into the sea, affecting the livelihood of fishers and coastal communities, with local governments imposing "no-catch" zones.

One crew member was killed during the capsize.

What do we know about the operation?

The Philippine Coast Guard said a private company was transferring the cargo, contained in eight tanks aboard the Terranova, to another vessel after initial trial removals were successful. 

"The siphoning operation for the first tank is ongoing," a coast guard media officer told reporters.

The government has suggested that the operation could take a week to complete, with each of the eight tanks holding 175,000 liters of oil.

The vessel is lying at the bottom of the bay about 34 meters (112 feet) below the surface.

Damaging oil spill

The spill from the Terranova, and two other vessels that sank in the bay at the same time, covered 84 square kilometers on July 28 and 27 square kilometers on July 30, according to Oceana, an ocean conservation organization.

"The spill has already resulted in nearly 1 billion pesos (€15.9 million; $17.5 million) in damages to the livelihoods of local fisherfolk and related industries," Oceana said. "The long-term economic impact could be devastating if not addressed promptly."

The polluted water reached the provinces of Cavite, Bulacan and Bataan.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has urged the public to "exercise caution when consuming fish from the affected areas due to the risk of petrochemical contamination."

The Philippines experienced one of its worst-ever spills last year in February, when a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro.

The spill of diesel oil and thick oil from that vessel devastated the fishing and tourism industries along the coast of Oriental Mindoro province.

tj/nm (dpa, AFP)