A vessel collision outside the city of Qingdao is the cause of an oil spill in the Yellow Sea, allegedly caused by the heavy fog of the morning.
A tanker carrying around 1 million barrels of bitumen mix was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao.
Spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, Chinese maritime officials and tanker representatives said on Tuesday (Apr 27).
The collision involving the anchored Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony and the bulk vessel Sea Justice took place at 8.50am local time.
A Symphony’s manager Goodwood Ship Management said in an e-mail.
“The force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks, with a quantity of oil lost into the ocean,” Goodwood said, adding all of the crew had been accounted for and there were no injuries.
It was not immediately possible to contact the owner of the Sea Justice.
“The oil spill came after a clash between two vessels,” an official for China’s Shandong Maritime Safety Administration told, confirming that no one was injured.
Heavy fog, which has hampered navigation off the Qingdao coast since Monday, led to poor visibility at the time of the collision, Goodwood said.
“Immediately after the violent striking occurred, the master initiated emergency procedures onboard.
Mobilizing the vessel’s oil spill response team and initiating an internal transfer to limit the loss of product,” Goodwood said in an emailed statement.
It said the incident was reported to local authorities and steps to contain and clean up the oil spill had begun.
Although the port’s closure because of “zero visibility” was hindering the efforts.
The Shandong Maritime Safety Administration has instructed other ships in the area to stay at least 10 nautical miles from the A Symphony.
Source: The Star (Malaysia)
