Oil spill near Chinese port after ships collide

BEIJING/SINGAPORE — A tanker carrying around one million barrels of bitumen mix was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao during heavy fog, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, Chinese maritime officials and tanker representatives said on Tuesday.

The collision involving the anchored Liberiaflagged tanker A Symphony and the bulk vessel Sea Justice took place at 8:50 a.m. 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 and the extent of the spill was also unclear as operations to contain it were hindered by the fog.

“The oil spill came after a clash between two vessels,” an official for China’s Shandong Maritime Safety Administration told Reuters on condition of anonymity, 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.

It said emergency procedures on board the vessel were instigated to limit any spill and the vessel’s oil spill response team was mobilized.

The incident was reported to local authorities and a clean-up operation has begun, although it was hindered by the port’s closure because of “zero visibility,” Goodwood said.