A new marine cleanup vessel donated by South Korea is expected to strengthen the Philippines’ rehabilitation efforts in Manila Bay, one of the country’s most polluted bodies of water.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the launch of MV Nilad under the Enhancement of Marine Litter Management in Manila Bay Project marks a major step toward a cleaner and healthier bay.
Marcos skipped the vessel’s inauguration at South Harbor in Manila on Tuesday, with Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez delivering his speech on his behalf.
“The MV Nilad is a working vessel built for real and urgent tasks,” Marcos said in the speech read by Lopez.
The President said the vessel can collect, sort, and store up to 10 tons of marine litter in a single operation and operate for 300 to 400 hours annually.
“It is equipped not only for waste retrieval but also for oil spill response and environmental monitoring,” Marcos said.
The $8.2-million project is a joint initiative of the Philippines and South Korea. It enabled the donation of the 25-meter, 101-ton vessel, which is equipped with a trash skimmer, deck crane, and oil boom for continuous cleanup operations and emergency response.
Marcos said MV Nilad will also support the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in conducting environmental monitoring and marine litter assessment in Manila Bay.
He urged the DENR and the Philippine Coast Guard to properly maintain the vessel, noting that the government had long lacked a dedicated ship for continuous marine litter collection in the bay.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Admiral Gavan said MV Nilad represents a long-term commitment to protect Manila Bay.
“Today, we are not just inaugurating a vessel. We are launching a promise — the promise that Manila Bay can be restored, sustained, and protected for the communities that depend on it,” Admiral Gavan said.
A study by De La Salle University-Dasmariñas under the EMLM Project found that more than 6.5 million litter items, weighing over 203,000 kilograms, remain scattered across Manila Bay’s 190-kilometer coastline.
Plastics accounted for 91 percent of the waste.
Project data, however, showed some progress in 2024, with litter volume declining by 36 percent and the total weight of collected waste dropping by 42 percent.