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December 7, 2007
Tanker Spills 10,000 Tonnes of Oil
Off South Korean Coast

Seoul
A Hong-Kong registered super tanker that collided with a barge spilt an estimated 10,500 tonnes of oil into the Yellow Sea off the coast of South Korea Friday, according to the Maritime Ministry.

The Hebei Spirit was eight km northwest of the Taean peninsula, 110 km southwest of Seoul, waiting to enter the port when it was rammed by an unmanned barge carrying a crane.

The crane punched three holes into the tanker that had a cargo of 260,000 tonnes of crude oil. The barge had loosened itself from a tug in stormy weather.

More than 30 ships and helicopters have been deployed to prevent a larger spill amid fears that the leak could reach the coast by Saturday.

The spill measures 7.4 km in length and two km in width making it the largest ever to be found off South Korea's coast, Yonhap news agency reported.

The 146,000-tonne tanker was probably full, a spokesman for the ministry said.

Low temperatures would help the oil agglutinate faster, the spokesman added. Apart from that, floating barriers had been put in position to stop the spill from spreading.

Taean is a popular seaside resort around 150 km south of Seoul.

December 7, 2007   

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