Worst South Korean Oil Spill

The Hong Kong-registered Hebei Spirit collided with an 11,800-ton barge on Friday morning, December 8, near Taean county, South Chungcheong province in South Korea. A crane that the barge was carrying punctured three holes in the 146,000-ton tanker during the collision, causing the vessel to spill about 10,500 tons of oil into the surrounding water. According to a South Korean government press release, "The spill is the largest in Korea’s history, about twice the size of the leak of 5,035 tons in 1995, the country’s worst oil spill before Friday’s accident."

Soon after the incident, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun attended a meeting at the National Disaster Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters, where he told government officials "to take measures to minimize the damage from the oil spill." Then, on Saturday evening, the government declared a state of disaster in the area. The South Korean government expects the spill to negatively affect oyster and abalone farming, as well as tourism businesses, in the area.

The latest government statement, on Thursday December 13, describes the cleanup effort: "Five airplanes and 210 ships, including 31 coast defense ships and 14 contamination control ships, and 15,000 people, including more than 4,000 soldiers, residents and volunteers, have been working day and night to clean up over 10,000 tons of oil leaked from the tanker. Since the collision last Friday, they have so far removed more than 900 tons of crude oil and nearly 5,000 tons of oil-damaged waste."

South Korea asked the Northwest Pacific Action Plan, an international environmental organization, for help in the cleanup, which has already provided 100 tons of oil absorbents. Apparently, South Korea's Coast Guard "will closely cooperate with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to respond to the oil spill crisis more systemically and scientifically" as well. And, the country may even ask for aid from other international organizations if the "contamination worsens." The central government also plans to provide the area with "an initial fund of 6.9 billion won [USD 72.3 million] to help the region quickly reduce contamination." Moreover, it appears that at least "four Taean townships qualify for state aid as special disaster areas." Also, the government will be giving tax cuts to all affected residents and will allow them to "delay payment on their public insurance and national pension bills."

Additionally, according to a December 8 government press statement, "The accident could cause compensation payments of as much as 300 billion won ($330 million) from British Lloyd P&I, the insurance company for the barge, and from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, an intergovernmental organization that provides compensation for damage caused by oil spills from tankers."

For the latest news on the incident, see South Korea's government Web portal here.