Chinese authorities launch clean-up operation to tackle 50 sq km slick following explosion of two crude oil pipelines in Dalian
Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk 19 Jul 10;
Chinese authorities have closed a major oil terminal and dispatched a flotilla of dispersal vessels to tackle a 50 square kilometre slick of crude that was released after a pipeline explosion near Dalian.
Amid fears that the spill could contaminate local beaches, maritime safety officials have also put in place a 9km long floating boom to try to keep the seepage from coastal waters near China's largest deep-water port.
The oil started to leak into the sea late on Friday night when a pipe conveying crude oil from a Liberian ship to a storage tank combusted and sparked a second explosion at another pipeline at Dalian Xingang oil port.
About 2,000 firefighters were dispatched from the city and neighbouring areas to tackle the blaze, which was eventually brought under control after 15 hours.
The Dalian authorities have dispatched 20 vessels to spray dispersal agents on the slick and to soak up oil with panels of absorbent felt.
No casualties were reported, but China National Petroleum Corporation - the country's biggest oil firm - closed the port and its subsidiary, PetroChina, has reduced output at a nearby refinery.
Although the valves have been shut and the leak has been stemmed, the environmental impact of the oil is still being felt.
Local media have run pictures showing black water near the scene of the accident and murky brown slicks snaking further out to sea. Fishermen are concerned that their catches - which are already sharply reduced due to over-fishing in recent years - may be affected.
Considerably smaller in scale than the BP leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the clean-up operation at Dalian is estimated to take just a week.
But the consequences are likely to linger far longer. Zhao Zhangyuan, of the China Research Academy of Environment Sciences estimated the ecological damage would take 10 years to repair.
"It is not possible to completely clear all the oil. Some of it will break down and disperse in the water so its invisible influence will continue for many years," he told the News Morning Post.
China rushes to clean up oil spill
Yahoo News 19 Jul 10;
BEIJING (AFP) – Authorities in northeastern China have mobilised 1,000 vessels to help clean up an oil spill in the Yellow Sea caused by a weekend pipeline explosion and fire, the government said on Monday.
Dozens of oil-skimming vessels were working to remove the slick off the port city of Dalian following Friday night's accident which spilled an estimated 1,500 tonnes of crude into the sea, press reports said.
Another 1,000 local fishing vessels have been ordered to aid the clean-up operation, the Dalian government said in a statement on its website.
Authorities predicted the clean-up would take 10 days.
The worst of the spill, which initially covered 50 square kilometres (19 square miles), had been reduced to 45 square kilometres as of Monday, the official China Central Television (CCTV) reported on its news website.
But a dark brown oil slick had stretched over at least 183 square kilometres of ocean, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The Dalian government said the last remnants of the fire had finally been put out and it declared a "decisive victory" against the spill, but did not explicitly say whether it had been completely halted.
Two pipelines exploded at an oil storage depot belonging to China National Petroleum Corp near Dalian's Xingang Harbour in Liaoning province, triggering a spectacular blaze that burned throughout the weekend. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Authorities have since limited ship traffic at Dalian port to allow the clean-up operations to proceed, according to Xinhua.
CNPC is the country's biggest oil company.
Media reports quoted Dalian authorities saying investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the accident, which occurred after a Libyan-flagged tanker discharged its load at the port.
The tanker made it away from the oil storage facility safely, reports said.
