Collision Between Two Vessels Near China’s Qingdao Port Results In Oil Spill
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An oil spill took place near China’s Qingdao port after a tanker and bunker collided in the Yellow Sea. The crew has already started cleaning up the oil spill along with some assistance.
The incident happened when 2 vessels transiting in the Shandong province collided. The tanker vessel ‘A Symphony’ and the Bulk Carrier ‘Sea Justice’ were the 2 ships involved in the accident.
The tanker had been known to carry bitumen mix. The dense fog that engulfed the area on Tuesday seemed to have caused the accident.
Liberia flagged tanker’s manager, the Goodwood Ship Management has revealed that though the extent of the oil spills remains to be ascertained, the work to contain it has already been started by the crew on Wednesday.
Image Credits: @suezmaxdaily / Twitter
The tanker had been anchored when the bulker collided with it. The collision had heavily damaged the tanker, breaching its cargo and ballast tanks.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed by the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration that the oil spill wasn’t a major one.
The accident however hasn’t affected any of the crews of the 2 ships and all of them are safe. As of now, an investigation has been ordered while ships were informed to stay 10 nautical miles away from the tanker.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology & Environment had summoned experts in Qingdao court to access the oil spill situation.
The owner of the bitumen cargo the Hong Kong-based fuel trading company Run Cheng International Resource (HK) had acknowledged that the 150000-ton cargo belonged to them.
Reports of the A Symphony #Suezmax having a breach of double hull outside Qingdao. Info is circulating fast so checking the validity. #oil #oott #shipping #freight pic.twitter.com/MZZN2TDNmd
— Suezmax Daily (@suezmaxdaily) April 27, 2021
Bitumen happens to be a mixture of heavy crude oil and residue often used by Independent Chinese refiners for refining feedstock alternatives.
In recent years, oil spills from oil tankers have reduced courtesy the practice of using double hulls. However, the environmental concern regarding it remains.
Source : Chinese local media.
Source: Maritime Shipping News