Industry news
China ship crash causes oil spill
Posted Mon, 26 Oct 2009
A cleanup operation is under way after oil spilled into the sea off the coast of northern China following a collision between two ships.
The oil spill occurred when a Chinese ship collided with a Belgian vessel at a refuelling dock at the Caofeidian port, a steelmaking and energy base in north-eastern Hebei province, near Beijing.
The extent of the leak was not immediately known, but according to the Xinhua news agency, workers said that it had been brought under control.
The agency added that cleanup efforts had been hampered by a thick fog after the provincial maritime department dispatched workers and ships to the site.
Xinhua reported that the 290-metre-long Belgian vessel, Lowlands Prosperity, was docked at the port and had been about to unload when Chinese fuel supplier Jinyou Number One crashed into it and damaged its hull, causing the leak.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Caofeidian port