A fishing vessel carrying 70,000 liters of diesel nearly sank off the coast of Calatagan, Batangas, on Sunday, sparking fears of another oil spill in the fragile biodiversity of Verde Island Passage (VIP), an advocacy group said on Monday. In a statement on Monday, Protect VIP said the vessel, Anita DJ II, partly sank after encountering strong rains while traveling from Navotas City in Metro Manila to Palawan province, with its 13 crew members all rescued. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that the fishing vessel was found partly submerged around seven nautical miles (around 13 kilometers) from the shoreline of Cape Santiago in Calatagan’s Barangay Bagong Silang on Aug. 26.

Virola, M. T., & Mallari, D. T. Jr. (2023, August 29). Verde Island Passage faces new oil spill threat. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.