Manila Pursues Shipowner Accountability for Tanker Sinking

The Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila is now initiating legal actions against RDC Reield Marine Services for their involvement in the Princess Empress sinking and the resulting oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

In February of last year, adverse weather conditions led to the sinking of the ship near the island of Mindoro. Subsequently, over 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil gradually leaked into the sea, constituting the most significant oil spill in the Philippines since 2006.

A panel of legal experts has recommended filing charges against individuals employed by the shipowner, as well as someone working within the country's maritime regulatory body. The offences in question include the falsification of public documents.

The ship's past came under scrutiny in the weeks following its sinking. While Equasis, a shipping database, indicated that the locally flagged Princess Empress was constructed in 2022, the country's justice secretary contradicted this claim. The secretary asserted that the vessel was, in reality, quite old and considered a potential candidate for scrapping. It had undergone modifications twice, including a phase during which it operated as an LPG carrier.