South Korea's worst oil spill spreads along coast

Jun Kwanwoo, Yahoo News 10 Dec 07;

South Korea's worst ever oil spill spread along a pristine coastal region Monday as the government came under fire amid charges it acted too slowly to limit the disaster.

Almost 9,000 troops, police and volunteers armed with shovels and buckets struggled to clean up the huge slick. But officials said it would deal a heavy blow to tourism and oyster and abalone farms in the area.

The crude oil had so far hit 160 marine farms out of a total of 445 in the area under threat, said Cho Kyu-Sung, an official of Taean county 90 kilometres (56 miles) southwest of Seoul.

"The damage will be enormous if you include long-term environmental expenses," he told AFP.

Some 140 ships and five planes were helping, but the Coast Guard said the slick has already hit 50 kilometres of coastline, and more oil was expected to come ashore.

Park Myung-Jae, home affairs minister, said four townships would be declared a disaster zone, making them eligible for extra help and compensation.

Park vowed immediate aid of 5.9 billion won (6.4 million dollars) and said more state funds would be forthcoming soon.

Northwest winds were quickly pushing the slick south along the coast, said Lee Jae-Hak, of the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute.

"Damage was bigger than expected because of wrong weather forecasts by the authorities," Lee told AFP.

"High waves and strong winds were the main cause. However, authorities failed fully to take seasonal winds into consideration after booms were set up."

Lee said it may take months or a year to remove oil from the land surface, "but it will take four or five years to remove chemicals and other pollutants."

About 10,500 tons of crude oil leaked into the Yellow Sea when a drifting barge carrying a construction crane smashed into an oil tanker Friday.

The barge's cable to a tugboat had snapped during rough weather before it holed the 147,000-ton Hong Kong-registered Hebei Spirit in three places.

Officials reported difficulties contacting the tug captain to warn him of the imminent danger.

The captain, for as yet unknown reasons, did not receive a warning radio message about the tanker's presence in the area, said Song Hee-Sun, a regional traffic official of the maritime ministry.

Officials then tried to call his mobile phone but when they finally got through, it may have been too late to prevent the collision, Song told AFP.

"He is under questioning by police. So we cannot say whether he is responsible or not," he added.

The leak from the tanker, which was anchored eight kilometres off the coast, was only completely stopped early Sunday. The oil spill is about twice the size of South Korea's previous worst such case in 1995.

Newspapers alleged a slow response to the disaster, saying no lessons had been learned since then.

"Precious time was lost in preparing seaside communities for the impending ecological disaster," a Korea Herald editorial said.

"Equipment to contain the oil spill was not distributed promptly, leaving villagers helpless as they watched the oil move ashore."

The JoongAng Ilbo said it suspects "authorities tackled the accident in a loafing and idle manner."

Shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries, who operated the barge and tug, said the tanker's owner would be able receive a maximum 300 billion won (326 million dollars) through an insurer to cover damage from the spill.

Samsung was responsible for compensating the owner, a spokesman told AFP.

"We are awaiting the outcome of an investigation by police. But we are basically responsible for the incident," the spokesman said. "We will not swerve from our duty."

"It is regrettable that it came under unfavourable circumstances."

The Samsung group is already under official investigation over allegations that it had operated a huge slush fund to bribe officials in the past.

Volunteers struggle to save the beach that turned black
Jun Kwanwoo Yahoo News 10 Dec 07;

Using buckets, shovels and even dustpans, volunteers Monday battled to save one of South Korea's most pristine beaches from a relentless tide of oily sludge.

An army of police, troops and volunteers several thousand strong was labouring on Mallipo beach, even as the tide remorselessly deposited more and more crude oil onto the sand.

"I felt like crying. This was such a good place for my kids," said Kim Mi-Sook, a Salvation Army volunteer from nearby Seosan county, as she scooped up oil with a dustpan.

"The sand was so good, with flowers blooming here and there," she told AFP.

"The sludge was initially 50 centimetres (20 inches) high on the beach in some places. The waves could not get over it."

About 10,500 tons of crude oil leaked into the Yellow Sea when a drifting barge holed an oil tanker on Friday. The Coast Guard said the slick has already hit 50 kilometres (31 miles) of coastline including Mallipo and more was expected to wash ashore.

Helicopters hovered and mechanical diggers were busy on the beach, which had turned black apart from the cleaned areas.

Workers carried filled buckets to hundreds of big rubber tanks set up along the two-kilometre beach. A long line of tanker trucks emptied the tanks, while oily sand was bagged separately for disposal.

Everyone involved donned rubber boots and gloves and some wore face masks to avoid the stench of the crude oil.

"I think it may take more than 10 years to return the beach to normal," said volunteer Chae Gil-Mook, 46, who runs a boarding house for tourists.

"It is too much. It will cause us big trouble in making a living here. People in the region rely on (Korean) tourists to make a living. I doubt they would visit here now."

Im Seong-Il, 43, who has run a fish restaurant on the beach for 11 years, said he is thinking of leaving. Future visitors "may get skin diseases or other problems. They will not get into the water or even in the sand."

Marine farmers around Taean county, 90 kilometres southwest of Seoul, were also in shock. At Uihangri village, where 150 farms are located, they were spreading absorbent material to try to soak up the oil.

"It is a complete disaster," said oyster farmer Lee Nam-Kyu, 64.

"No one knows how long it (the oil) will last.. 10 years, 20 years? The sea farms have been shut down. There is no chance for them to reopen in my lifetime."

In the neighbouring village of Sogunri, Kook Kyung-Ho criticised authorities for failing to put a boom across the 1.5 kilometre mouth of the bay.

"It's over, it's over, it's over," he said. "I don't know how I will make a living from now on."