PRINCESS EMPRESS, Philippines, 2023

Incident 

On 28 February 2023, while en route from Bataan to Iloilo, Philippines, tanker PRINCESS EMPRESS developed a list in rough seas and sank to a depth of 400 metres, ~8 kilometres north-east of Oriental Mindoro. The crew were rescued successfully by a passing vessel. PRINCESS EMPRESS was loaded at the time with 825 m3 of Heavy Fuel Oil as cargo and 113 m3 of Marine Diesel Oil as bunker fuel. While the exact quantity of oil released is unknown, ~100 kilometres of shoreline was contaminated on Oriental Mindoro, with ~8 kilometres of shoreline affected on the islands of Semirara and Liwagao in the Caluya archipelago.  

A large proportion of the population in these affected areas rely on small-scale, fisheries-related activities, with substantial subsistence fishing communities. Several of these impacted areas are also reliant on the tourism industry, including beachfront hotels, diving companies and ecotourism businesses. 

Response 

The response was overseen by the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), who conducted flights over the incident location and affected shorelines to gauge the extent of the contamination. Other government agencies involved included the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Health. 

International assistance was provided from organisations and government agencies from France (Cedre), Japan (JICA), Korea (KCG), and USA (NOAA and USCG), with personnel on-site to advise the Philippine Coast Guard.  

At-sea containment and recovery efforts were undertaken by Malayan Salvage and Towage Corporation using skimmers, booms and vessels, concluding in July 2023.  

The shoreline types impacted by the oil ranged from higher energy coarse sediment beaches to lower energy sandy beaches and sheltered dense mangrove habitats. Shoreline clean up was led by the French pollution response company Le Floch Depollution, working alongside local contractor Harbor Star. The response effort included up to 600 local people per day engaged in manual recovery operations until July 2023. Batuhan in Oriental Mindoro continued to see light oiling of the shoreline in the form of tar balls, with all recovery activity ceasing in August 2023.  

Fishing bans were imposed by the authorities across several impacted areas. The ban in the Caluya archipelago was lifted in April, while bans in Oriental Mindoro were lifted later, with the municipality of Pola being the final area to lift its ban in July 2023. 

Sub-sea surveys of the wreck undertaken by a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) found continuous oil releases from the damaged hull weeks after the initial sinking. The removal of oil remaining in the casualty was undertaken by Malayan Salvage and Towage Corporation commencing in June 2023 and completed the following month.  

Conventions and Claims  

The Republic of Philippines is a signatory to the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions. The costs of the incident exceeded the STOPIA threshold (20 million SDR (then ~US$26.6 million)), by which the shipowner agrees voluntarily to increase their pollution liability, meaning the IOPC Fund commenced payments above this value.  

A claims submission office (CSO) was established by the casualty’s insurer and IOPC Funds in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, to facilitate claims submission from local communities. This office was supplemented by additional temporary collection centres for claimants in different municipalities. Staff of the CSO travelled to the areas affected to conduct one-to-one interviews with individual claimants, mostly fishers, to assist with submission of their claims. 

With the three-year timebar for claims now passed, the CSO had registered a total of 40,869 claims, including 37,885 from the fisheries sector, 2,901 tourism related claims, 80 for clean-up and preventive measures and three claims for property damage. As of April 2026, 40,846 claims have been assessed, of which 37,017 claims have been paid and 3,829 claims rejected as inadmissible under the Conventions. 

ITOPF involvement 

ITOPF was mobilised on 1 March 2023 by the casualty’s insurer. Prior experience of incidents in the Philippines allowed ITOPF staff to work closely with the PCG and other authorities from the outset. Multiple ITOPF technical advisers attended on site in Mindoro and Caluya simultaneously and remained on-site until July.  

ITOPF staff initially undertook aerial surveillance overflights with the PCG and focused on mapping the extent of contamination via extensive surveys, often in conjunction with government representatives, guided by modelling and satellite imagery. ITOPF staff advised on the mobilisation of suitable resources and techniques for an effective response on the affected shorelines.  

Waste management presented significant logistical and regulatory challenges due to the remoteness of some impacted shorelines and multi-regional legislation. ITOPF worked with the local response contractor to design a suitable waste transport and disposal plan which complied with government requirements.  

At the request of the IOPC Funds, ITOPF worked alongside ABL Group to assess the environmental and economic risks posed by the wreck. The outcomes of this study supported the subsea oil removal operation which began in June 2023. 

ITOPF staff worked to advise on assessments for the majority of claims submitted to the insurer and IOPC Funds. Notably, staff worked with fisheries experts from the University of Philippines Visayas to design and implement an independent research study on the level of loss experienced by sectors of the fishing industry in the affected region. The findings of this study assisted with the assessment of the fisheries claims.  

Categories: Philippines, Oil, Tanker, Asia