ILOILO CITY, Philippines -- Salvage operations on the cargo ship that sank off Antique were completed on Tuesday but divers failed to locate its cargo of around 80 sealed drums of a toxic chemical, the Coast Guard said.

Commodore William Melad, Coast Guard district commander for Western Visayas, said the operation included the cutting up the wreckage of the cargo ship MV Ocean Papa into parts and transporting these to the shore.

However, divers have failed to locate around 80 sealed drums containing at least 16 metric tons of the toxic substance toluene di-isocyanate (TDI), which could have been thrown off the vessel shortly before it sank on June 21 when typhoon "Frank" battered the province.

The Coast Guard earlier called off search operations for the toxic cargo after more than a month.

The owner of the sunken vessel, the Oceanic Container Lines Inc. also opted to stop the search for the missing cargo because of the risk to divers in deeper areas.

Around 61 container vans from the ship were recovered after being swept ashore while divers found another near the ship.

But 80 sealed drums containing at least 16 metric tons of TDI remain missing despite the use of sonar-equipped ships.

TDI is a main ingredient in the production of flexible polyurethane foam and is used in manufacturing synthetic leather, coated fabrics, paints and adhesives. The chemical can cause severe irritation of the skin and eyes, and affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems if inhaled or ingested.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Western Visayas earlier issued a warning against possible contamination of the carcinogenic substance through inhalation, ingestion or direct contact. They have advised residents not to open the container vans and drums if they are recovered.

But Oceanic Container Lines Inc., the company that owns the Ocean Papa, had said that that any possible spill of the TDI would not pose any serious threat to marine life, citing a study it commissioned.

The ship owner had offered a P100,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of container vans with the toxic cargo.

Melad said he would terminate the operations officially on Thursday after the clearing operations and loading of equipment are completed.

Salvage teams employed by C.V. Gaspar Salvage and Lighterage Company have cut up and transported sections of the ship weighing 10 tons each and totaling 775 tons of wreckage, he said.

The MV Ocean Papa sank due to strong winds and rough seas at noon of June 21 near Mararison Island, around 5.6 km from the coast of Culasi, while en route from Manila to Iloilo City.

MV Ocean Papa's ship captain Carlo Kho and another crew member died while two others remain missing. Twenty four crew members were rescued.